Lighthouse Hill, Staten Island - Definition

A map of Staten Island shown with 5 boroughs.

Lighthouse Hill is the name of a hill, and the neighborhood situated thereon, in Staten Island, New York. The island makes up one of the five boroughs into which New York City, the USA's largest city, is divided.

Formerly known as Richmond Hill (and not to be confused with the neighborhood of the same name in the borough of Queens), Lighthouse Hill acquired its present name when the Staten Island Lighthouse, towering 141 feet (43 meters) above the Lower New York Bay, was built there in 1912. Its light can be seen as far as 18 miles (29 km) away. The former name of Richmond Hill survives in Richmond Hill Road, located at the southern edge of the hill.

Lighthouse Hill is the southernmost of the chain of hills that radiate from the northeast corner of Staten Island and separate its East Shore from the region behind the hills, usually referred to as Mid-Island by island residents. Richmond Creek flows near the bottom of the hill's eastern ridge, and it is surrounded on all sides by parks belonging to the Staten Island Greenbelt, with the LaTourette Golf Course at the hill's southern margin.

Like the other "hills," Lighthouse Hill is noted for having some of the most opulent homes on Staten Island. It is also the site of the Tibetan Museum, one of the island's most popular tourist attractions.

See also

• Lighthouse
• Lighthouses in the United States