Operations were stopped immediately and the landfill eventually closed. A tractor did indeed fall through the surface. The landfill was always composting and there were occasional fires when things got too hot. My grandfather was superintendent on Spectacle from approx 1923 until the landfill closed the 1950'. One option for food thats decent, but BYO picnic if you can. ^ Sherman, Annie, 'The Other Islands: The Harbor Islands make for an easy day trip for sunbathers, history buffs-and especially the traffic-weary' Archived May 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine, Boston magazine, May 2007 issue. Beautiful peaceful island, but beaches are too rocky.'Broad Sound Channel Inner Range Lights'. Archived from the original on May 1, 2017. United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. ^ 'Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Massachusetts'.Discovering the Boston Harbor Islands: a guide to the city's hidden shores. ^ 'Spectacle Island offers spectacular views of Boston Harbor'.^ a b 'Island Escape With a City View'.^ a b c d 'Island Facts: Spectacle Island - Boston Harbor Islands National Recreation Area (U.S.Spectacle Island opened to the public in June 2006 for use as a recreational area with hiking trails, a beach, a visitors' center with cafe, and a marina with 38 boat slips for visitors. Thousands of trees were planted, and paths, buildings, and a dock were built. The island was covered and built up by dirt, capped with two feet of clay, and covered with two to five feet of topsoil. When the Central Artery/Third Harbor Tunnel Project, or the Big Dig, began work in Boston in 1992, some of the project's excavated dirt and clay was used to resurface the island. The Broad Sound Channel Inner Range Lights were first lit in 1903 and discontinued around 1950 these indicated the middle leg of the trip. The Spectacle Island Range Lights were established in 1897 to mark the last leg of the channel into Boston itself, past Governor's Island they were not long-lived and were discontinued in 1913.

Two sets of range lights were erected on the island by the United States Lighthouse Service. The island remained a smelly, leaking dump until the 1990s. A bulldozer was supposedly swallowed up by the trash sometime during the 1950s. When the incinerator closed, trash was simply dumped on the island for the next thirty years. A horse rendering plant was built on Spectacle Island in 1857, followed by a city trash incinerator that remained active until 1935. Starting in the early 19th century, the island was used exclusively for its relative remoteness from Boston. The island in 1907 showing the Spectacle Island Range Lights

Spectacle island beach