 Sombrero Key Light (from U.S. Coast Guard archives) | |
 | |
| Location | near Key Vaca in Marathon, Florida |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 24°37′40.46″N 81°06′41.78″W / 24.6279056°N 81.1116056°W |
| Tower | |
| Foundation | iron pilings with disks |
| Construction | cast iron |
| Automated | 1960 |
| Height | 142 feet (43 m) |
| Shape | skeletal octagonal pyramid |
| Heritage | National Register of Historic Places listed place  |
| Racon | "M" (— —) |
| Light | |
| First lit | 1858 |
| Deactivated | 2015 |
| Lens | first-order Fresnel lens |
| Range | White 15 nautical miles (28 km; 17 mi), Red 20 nautical miles (37 km; 23 mi) |
| Characteristic | Fl(5) W 60s |
Sombrero Key Light | |
  | |
| Location | Offshore approx. 5.5 mi. SSW. of Marathon |
| Nearest city | Marathon, Florida |
| Coordinates | 24°37′40.46″N 81°06′41.78″W / 24.6279056°N 81.1116056°W |
| MPS | Light Stations of the United States MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 12000092[1] |
| Added to NRHP | March 9, 2012 |
Sombrero Key Light is located offshore of Vaca Key in Marathon, Florida.[2] The lighthouse is located on a mostly submerged reef. The name Sombrero Key goes back to the Spanish, and old charts show a small island at the spot, but by the later 19th Century the island had eroded away, with some parts of the reef exposed at low tide. As a result, the reef and the lighthouse have also been called Dry Banks.[3]
The lighthouse was put in service in 1858, automated in 1960, and was deactivated in 2015. The foundation is iron pilings with disks, and the tower is a skeletal octagonal pyramid of cast iron. It is a 142-foot (43 m) tall red painted tower. It has two platforms. The lower one, 15 feet (4.6 m) above the water, held water and fuel tanks, the generator (after the light was electrified), boat hoists and a workshop. The upper platform, 40 feet (12 m) above the water, held the quarters for the staff. The original lens, a first-order Fresnel lens, is now on display in the Key West Lighthouse Museum. The Sombrero Key Light is the tallest lighthouse in the Florida Keys, and was the last lighthouse constructed under the supervision of Lieutenant George Meade of the Bureau of Topographical Engineers.
- ^ "Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 3/05/12 through 3/09/12". National Park Service. March 16, 2012. Retrieved 16 March 2012.
- ^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Eastern Florida and the Keys". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
- ^ "Sombrero Key Lighthouse History". Historic Lighthouse Publishers. Archived from the original on February 8, 2006. Retrieved May 20, 2012.
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