![]() There are lighthearted stories about the tower, too. Second Assistant Benjamin Stone found Davis' lifeless body in the tower where he had died of heart failure as he climbed. On the night of October 26, 1919, Davis climbed the tower to light the kerosene lantern, but the light never came on. He had served as Lindquist's second assistant a few years earlier and received a promotion upon his return. Davis came to the lighthouse in 1918 as a first assistant keeper to Principal Keeper John Lindquist. It's a long climb up those steps, and on the way you may stop to read about Joseph B. Now imagine that you are a lighthouse keeper, carrying up a heavy five-gallon fuel can filled with enough kerosene to keep the beacon lit through the night. ![]() After all, the tower can be an irresistible target for a lightning bolt! Even though the tower has a lightning protection system, we ask visitors to leave the tower while storms are in the area, just in case. The weight well and the original marble floor and cast iron staircase.Īs you start up the cast iron staircase, you may see a sign warning you about lightning storms. Various modifications to the plan were made by the engineers who oversaw the tower's construction, since changes in standard plans were typically made to suit local conditions. The design for the lighthouse was taken from a standard brick giant plan drawn by Paul Pelz, a Light-House Establishment draftsman. The tower is, in fact, a cone, but the interior is a cylinder which is 12 feet in diameter. Here they are about eight feet thick, but as you climb the walls get thinner until at the top they are two feet thick. The identifying color and pattern system for lighthouses was implemented by the Light-House Establishment in 1852.Īs you enter the tower's double front doors, you can see the amazing thickness of the brick walls. This is not paint but rather a special mineral-based coating. The tower's daymark or identifying color pattern is a brick red color called Venetian Red. Brick giant lighthouses are among the tallest in the nation, and the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse is the tallest in Florida and the seventh tallest in the US. Our lighthouse is called a brick giant for good reason. The 175-foot tower is open for climbing, and yes, you are invited to climb the 203 steps up to the main balcony! But there are a few things to notice before you get there. The Ponce Inlet tower is still a working lighthouse today and uses the historic 30-second rotation and characteristic. ![]() Following further restoration work, the third order lens was returned to service in the tower in 2004, and the Coast Guard granted permission for the beacon to become a private aid to navigation, maintained by the museum staff. In 1982, the Coast Guard reactivated the beacon in the Ponce Inlet Lighthouse using a series of modern lighthouse optics. In 1973, as a result of requests by the Ponce de Leon Inlet Lighthouse Preservation Association, the third order lens was returned to Ponce Inlet for restoration and display. When the Coast Guard discontinued the tower in 1970, the third order lens was removed from the tower and shipped to the Coast Guard Museum for display. This third order rotating Fresnel lens was first installed in the tower in 1933.
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