Gibbs Hill Lighthouse
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| Gibbs Hill Lighthouse | |
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| Location: | Gibbs Hill, Bermuda |
| Year first lit: | 1846 |
| Automated: | 1964 |
| Construction: | cast iron |
| Tower shape: | Conical tower |
| Height: | 117 feet |
| Range: | 40 statue miles |
| Characteristic: | 10 second flash interval |
The Gibbs Hill Lighthouse is the taller of two lighthouses on Bermuda, and the first of only a few lighthouses in the world to be made of cast-iron. This is because at that time, steel still was not able to be bent. While it is certainly not extremely tall in lightouse standards, the hill that it stands on is one of the highest on the island. The light on Gibbs Hill Lighthouse, therefore, is 362 feet high. Single-engined airplanes can see its flashes from over 100 miles away. The lighthouse has 185 steps to the top in eight flights. Until 1964, most of the light was run by hand, but in June of that year, the whole system was automated and runs on electricity. Sixty-thousand people ascended the lighthouse in 1985, and it continues to be a popular tourist attraction.
A radar antenna for marine shipping was installed atop the lighthouse in 2003, but was severely damaged later that year by Hurricane Fabian. It was repaired in 2004.
At the base of the tower is the Lighthouse Tea Room, a restaurant converted from the lighthouse keeper's former living quarters, where breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served daily.
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