St. Augustine Light, Maritime lighthouse in St. Augustine, Florida, United States.
St. Augustine Light is a tapering cylindrical brick tower painted in broad black and white spiral stripes, standing at the north end of Anastasia Island. It was built between 1871 and 1874 and rises about 50 meters above sea level. The tower has small rectangular windows with white frames and a red lantern at the top.
A Spanish colonial watchtower structure stood here until coastal erosion caused its collapse in the 19th century. The current tower, designed by Paul J. Pelz, began operations in 1874 and replaced the earlier installation.
The tower is painted in broad black and white spirals, not solid white, and the lantern room at the top is red. The site is run by the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum, a non-profit that funds maritime archaeology, traditional wooden boatbuilding and maritime education. The keepers' house, a Victorian duplex built during head keeper William A. Harn's tenure, stands beside the tower.
The climb of 219 steps leads to the observation deck at the top of the tower, from which you can overlook the ocean and surrounding area. Access to the top requires good physical condition, while the museum grounds remain accessible to all visitors.
The Fresnel lens inside the tower still rotates and casts its light more than 19 nautical miles across the Atlantic. This lens was assembled from over a thousand hand-cut glass prisms and remains one of the few still working examples of its kind on the American coast.
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