Jonathan Cohen's photos

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The United States lightship Chesapeake (LV-116) is owned by the National Park Service and on a 25-year loan to the Baltimore Maritime Museum in Baltimore, Maryland. Since 1820, several lightships have served at the Chesapeake lightship station and have been called Chesapeake. Built in 1930 at Charleston Drydock & Machine Co in Charleston, S.C. for $274,434.00, Lightship 116 took on the name of whatever station she was anchored at. The ship was also absorbed into the United States Coast Guard in 1939, as were all vessels in the United States Lighthouse Service. During WWII, Lightship 116 was based out of Sandwich, Massachusetts, where it served as an examination and guard vessel at the north entrance of the Cape Cod Canal and helped protect the important port of Boston.