Regarding Coastal New England Architecture?

Question:Hello: I am from New England, but have forgotten the name of the structures you see on top of coastline homes there. It is usually surrounded by rails, and sometimes has a bell, or even a small beacon resembling a lighthouse. Their function in literature is to watch for ships sailing home, or just watching the sea. The name is something like... The Captain's Roost, or The Captain's Crow's Nest..etc, etc. Some of these are small additions to the roof, and others totally cover the roof, and are quite spectacular. Does Anyone Know Their True New England Name ?? T.Y. :-)

Answers:
A widow's walk (or roofwalk) is a railed rooftop platform, typically on a coastal house, originally designed to observe vessels at sea. The name comes from the wives of mariners who would watch for their spouses to return. In some instances, the ocean took the lives of the mariners, leaving the women as widows; who would often thereafter gaze out to sea wishing beyond hope that their loved ones would return home and hence the name widow's walk was born