American Shoal Light, Offshore lighthouse near Sugarloaf Key, Florida, US.
American Shoal Light is a wrought-iron screw-pile lighthouse on the outermost reefs east of the Saddlebunch Keys, near Looe Key. Its skeletal tower rises 109 feet (33 m) above the water, with an octagonal two-storey keeper's dwelling on a platform 40 feet (12 m) up. The framework and dwelling are painted brown and the enclosed circular stair to the lantern white.
Plans for lighthouses along the Florida Reef date to 1851. American Shoal Light, the last of these iron towers, was fabricated by a Trenton, New Jersey firm in 13 months and erected on a submerged reef over about two years, costing roughly $94,000. It was first lit on July 15, 1880, automated in 1963, and deactivated in 2015.
The United States Postal Service recognized the maritime significance of American Shoal Light by featuring it on a 25-cent stamp in 1990.
The lighthouse is visible from mile marker 17 on US Route 1 by heading toward Sugarloaf Boulevard and continuing on Route 939A. Since the structure sits on a platform in open water, visitors can only view it from designated shoreline points or boat tours.
In 2016, twenty-four Cuban refugees sought shelter in the lighthouse before the United States Coast Guard transferred them to Guantanamo Bay Naval Station.
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