Located on the East Coast of Florida is the Florida St. Augustine Lighthouse. This lighthouse is the oldest navigational aid in North America. The lighthouse is the oldest brick structure left in the city of St. Augustine.
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The original structure was built in the 1500s by the Spanish. In 1824 it was named Florida’s first lighthouse. By 1870, the lighthouse was in danger due to erosion. In 1880 it was not able to survive a storm and fell into the ocean. By this time, however, the new lighthouse was already complete.
The Florida St. Augustine lighthouse is 165 feet above sea level and has a total of 219 stairs. The lens of the lighthouse contains 370 prisms, all hand cut and placed in the shape of a bee hive. The lens is 12 feet high and 6 feet in diameter.
In 1970 the innkeeper’s house was destroyed by a fire. A campaign began to raise funds to restore the house. The house was opened to the public as a museum in 1988, followed by the tower being opened to the public in 1993. The lighthouse and innkeeper’s house are opened daily to the public. There is a lot of history to be seen at this historical site.
