The St. Augustine Lighthouse

The St. Augustine Lighthouse.

Same shot, with clouds an hour later.

The fresnel (fre NELL) lens of the St. Augustine lighthouse.

The fresnel lens of the St. Augustine lighthouse from within the lens.


The view from the lighthouse looking north towards the Vilano bridge.

The view from the lighthouse looking east.

The high tides and rip currents of the past several days have shown us how dangerous the coastline can be, which is why the Spanish built a watch tower in St. Augustine in the 16th century. In 1824 a tower and a beacon were added to create Florida's first lighthouse.

The St. Augustine lighthouse is distinctive with its black and white striping and red lantern top. You climb 219 steps to reach the top, which they say is the equivalent of 14 stories. After climbing them, I believe it. Whew! But the view is magnificent and worth the effort.

The price of entry to the lighthouse also includes a self-guided tour of the keeper's house which is now a museum. There is information about the troops stationed in the area during WWII, about the lives of the various keepers and their responsibilities and in the basement there is a display of artifacts removed from a sunken ship. The keeper's house has been lovingly restored and Christmas decorations are starting to go up so it's a nice time to visit. After all, it's 80 degrees here now--what's it like where you are?