Lighthouse of the Week, March 2-8, 2025: Hillsboro Inlet Light, Florida, USA

 

When I saw a couple of pictures of this lighthouse, I was very surprised I had not featured it before as a Lighthouse of the Week. I was fairly certain that I had covered most of the Florida lighthouses. But I was wrong, so this is the Hillsboro Inlet Light on Pompano Beach.

And that would be here.

So let's learn more about it, from my main go-to source, the Lighthouse Directory.

"1907. Active; focal plane 136 ft (41.5 m); white flash every 20 s (not visible from the land side). 137 ft (42 m) octagonal pyramidal skeletal tower with central cylinder; lantern and upper half of tower painted black, lower half white. The original rotating 2nd order Fresnel lens remains in use. One of only three surviving towers of this design. The original 1-1/2 story wood keeper's house and other light station buildings survive, but an assistant keeper's house was demolished in 2005 despite loud protests from preservationists." ... "The Fresnel lens was relit in August 2000 after much hard work to replace the rotating mechanism of the light. In 2003 the gallery was restored. In March 2012 a museum and visitor center for the lighthouse opened on the south side of the inlet in Hillsboro Inlet Park, and in May the Coast Guard repainted the lighthouse. Also in 2012 the Coast Guard asked for comment on whether the light should be extinguished to protect sea turtles nesting in the area. Comment was not favorable and the light remained in service. In September 2017 storm surge from Hurricane Irma partially undermined the foundation of the lighthouse; it was estimated that $500,000 would be needed to armor the site and repair the damage. In 2023-24 a project will replace windows, doors, and electrical wiring, and repaint the lighthouse. Located on the beach, protected by a riprap jetty, on the north side of Hillsboro Inlet."

I'm glad I got to it before it fell over.  Here's a picture of the lighthouse foundation after the storm.

The Hillsboro Lighthouse Preservation Society webpage has live views from the top of the lighthouse; that's new to me.  Click on "Cameras". 

I've got the pictures below, including the lens. As you might expect, there are other webpages out there in webland about this one.