The Blackwell Island Lighthouse, also known as Welfare Island Lighthouse and Roosevelt Island Lighthouse is a 50 foot stone lighthouse built by New York City in 1872. The island was called Welfare Island from 1921 to 1973 when it held various facilities including a penitentiary, almshouse, city hospital, the New York Lunatic Asylum, and the Smallpox Hospital. The island is now known as Roosevelt Island.