Jupiter Inlet Light

Jupiter Inlet Light

The Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse
Location	North side of the Jupiter Inlet in Jupiter, Florida
Coordinates	26°56′55″N 80°04′55″W / 26.94861°N 80.08204°W / 26.94861; -80.08204
Tower
Constructed	1860
Foundation	Concrete
Construction	Brick
Automated	1928
Height	Tower: 105 feet (32 m), above water: 153 feet (47 m)
Shape	Conical tower/cylindrical tower
Heritage	National Register of Historic Places listed place, Outstanding Natural Area
Light
First lit	1860
Focal height	47 m (154 ft)
Lens	First order Fresnel lens
Range	25 nautical miles (46 km; 29 mi)
Characteristic	Fixed white varied by two white flashes every 30 seconds
Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Outstanding Natural Area
Architect	John Nystrem
NRHP reference No.	73000597[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	October 15, 1973
Designated ONA	May 8, 2008[2]

The Jupiter Inlet Light is located in Jupiter, Florida, on the north side of the Jupiter Inlet. The site for the lighthouse was chosen in 1853. It is located between Cape Canaveral Light and Hillsboro Inlet Light. The lighthouse was designed by then Lieutenant George G. Meade of the Bureau of Topographical Engineers. Meade's design was subsequently modified by Lieutenant William Raynolds. The Jupiter Inlet silted shut in 1854, forcing all building supplies to be shipped in light boats down the Indian River. Work was interrupted from 1856 to 1858 by the Third Seminole War. The lighthouse was completed under the supervision of Captain Edward A. Yorke in 1860 at a cost of more than $60,000.^[3]

The lighthouse was built on a hill once thought to be an Indian shell mound or midden (and sometimes falsely rumored to be a burial mound), but which is now determined to be a natural parabolic sand dune.^[4] The top of the 105-foot (32 m) tower is 153 feet (47 m) above sea level. The light can be seen 24 nautical miles (44 km; 28 mi) at sea. The lighthouse structure is brick with double masonry walls. The outer wall is conical, tapering from 31.5 inches (800 mm) (eight bricks thick) at ground level to 18 inches (460 mm) (three bricks thick) at base of lantern. The inner wall is cylindrical and two bricks thick throughout. Circumference at base is about 65 feet (20 m) and at the top about 43 feet (13 m).^[5] The lighthouse was painted red in 1910 to cover discoloration caused by humidity. Hurricane Jeanne in 2004 sandblasted the paint from the upper portion of the tower, and the tower was repainted using a potassium silicate mineral coating.