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Sandy Hook Lighthouse is at the end of land shaped like a hook and is sandy.  This is the oldest lighthouse you can climb, built in 1764 when New Jersey was a British colony.  It is 103 ft tall with 104 steps and celebrates 250 years as an active light in June, today maintained by the coast guard.
Its very thick brick walls (29 ft thick at the base and 15 ft thick at the top) and iron stairs have withstood many storms and hurricanes. Hurricane Sandy in 2012 flooded the entire peninsula, but it didn't effect the light.  However the light keepers house, which is a museum, has some damage which is being worked on.  Many lighthouses have a problem with beach erosion, but Sandy light is now further from the ocean.  When built it was 500 ft from the beach, now it is a mile and a half.  Climbing is free accompanied by a ranger and you get to go in the light room.  While most lights are on and off for specific seconds, Sandy Hook is on at all times. 
In 1897 my grandfather and his sibling( all didn't come over the same year) would have seen the lighthouse as their ship came into Ellis Island as they immigrated from the Carpithian mountains in Slovakia(Austro-Hungary).