There is a new Patriots tradition starting this season, but it’s nothing new to the region.
When the Kraft family and Gillette Stadium officials broke ground on a $250 million dollar renovation to its north endzone, the stadium’s signature lighthouse was reimagined as a new 22-story structure with a 360-degree observation deck to be enjoyed by fans all year long. It also offered a new twist.
Throughout the region, quintessential lighthouses line the New England coast as navigational marks, using fog bells as audible aids to warn against poor visibility, rocky conditions, and other dangers to shipping.
The earliest-known fog bell in the United States was at the Beavertail Lighthouse in Rhode Island in 1829. The most recent is now located at Gillette Stadium, with Tom Brady having the honors as the inaugural Keeper of the Light, ringing the bell to ring in the new season.