Anclote Keys Light

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Anclote Keys Light

Anclote Keys lighthouse as it appeared in 2005
Location: Anclote Key at the mouth of the Anclote River, near Tarpon Springs, Florida
Coordinates
WGS-84 (GPS)
28°10′01.11″N, 82°50′40.74″W
Year first lit: 1887
Automated: 1952
Deactivated: 1984
Foundation: pilings
Construction: cast iron
Tower shape: brown skeletal tower with central cylinder and black lantern
Height: 110 feet (34 m)
Original lens: third-order Fresnel lens
Range: 19 nm (35 km)
Characteristic: White, Flashing group of 4, every 30 sec
Anclote Keys Lighthouse when it was still manned (U.S. Coast Guard archives)
Anclote Keys Lighthouse when it was still manned (U.S. Coast Guard archives)

The Anclote Keys Light was a lighthouse built in 1887 on Anclote Key, the largest of the Anclote Keys. It is a skeletal square pyramidal tower, painted brown, with a black lantern. After the lighthouse was automated in 1952 the tower and other buildings at the site were often vandalized, interfering with the operation of the light. The Coast Guard determined that the light was no longer needed and deactivated in 1984. The site was eventually turned over to the State of Florida and added to Anclote Key Preserve State Park. As of 2003 the lighthouse has been restored and relit using a reproduction fourth-order Fresnel lens. Anclote Key is accessible only by boat.

It is listed as Anclote Key Light number 1555 in USCG light lists.

[edit] References

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