So, after exploring lighthouses along the Mediterranean coast of Algeria, I'm returning to the Gulf Coast of the United States. This lighthouse was in fact inspired by a T-shirt I saw being worn by someone else, showing the lighthouses of northwest Florida. A brief investigation indicated that there is a great variety of lighthouses, from skeletal towers to one that looks more like a house, along with more traditional forms.
This lighthouse is one of those; the tower is the tallest lighthouse on the Gulf of Mexico coast of the United States. (Is there a taller one in another country? There aren't many candidates for that.) It has another notable distinction; it's still operating a first-order Fresnel lens. Those are the big ones.
So, let's be systematic about this. If you don't where Pensacola and the Naval Air Station are, this map shows where they are with respect to the lighthouse.
The Lighthouse Directory's basic stats:
"1859 (John Newton). Station established 1824. Active; focal plane 191 ft (58 m); white flash every 20 s. 150 ft (46 m) "early classical" brick tower attached to a 2-story brick keeper's house. The light shines from a revolving 1st order Fresnel lens (1869), one of very few of its type still in service in the U.S. Upper two thirds of the lighthouse painted black, lower third white."
Here's the Web site devoted to the lighthouse: Pensacola Lighthouse and Maritime Museum
Just interested in history? Read this; the tower did come under fire a few times during the Civil War.
Unforunately, it isn't currently possible to visit the lighthouse, due to COVID-19 restrictions at the air station, so no one can climb the tower or watch the Blue Angels jets practice. So I found this Trip Advisor page, which apparently has over 1,000 pictures.
And below are the six pictures I selected, one with jets.
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| Inside the lens! |
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