The Wilson Lighthouse Highbridge, Bronx

At 945 Summit Avenue at the corner of 162nd St in the Highbridge section of the Bronx you will find the H.W. Wilson building. The building sits above the Major Deegan Expressway overlooking the Harlem River and to the East of the building a few blocks away is the New Yankee Stadium.  The most distinguishing feature of the building is the lighthouse that sits atop it. 

For most of my life I thought the lighthouse was used for navigation by boats in the river.  It may well have been, but that is not why it was constructed.  H.W. Wilson, was a publishing company that published Readers Guide to Periodical Literature, and the building with the lighthouse atop was part of the company logo, symbolizing the mission of the company: “To give guidance to those seeking their way through the maze of books and periodicals, without which they would be lost.”  Sort of a pre-internet Google search provider. The building was erected with the lighthouse in 1929 by the firm.  In June, 2011 H.W. Wilson merged with EBSCO Publishing and Tuck-IT-Away, a storage company, moved its headquarters into the building and painted the lighthouse bright orange.

The lighthouse, only being a short distance across and to the South of the High Bridge can be clearly seen on most days should you be looking in the right direction.