Absecon Lighthouse rises at Atlantic City’s north end overlooking Absecon Inlet. At 171 feet, it is New Jersey’s tallest lighthouse and the nation’s third-tallest masonry lighthouse. Built beginning in 1854 and first lit in 1857, it was designed by George Meade and still holds its original first-order fixed Fresnel lens, a rare survival. Though deactivated in 1933, its light continues to shine nightly. Preservation efforts led by Jack E. Boucher in 1964 helped save it as a historic landmark. Today it is open to the public, with tower climbs, exhibits, a recreated keepers’ quarters museum, and educational programs.