Who doesn’t love playing tourist … it’s really easy when you live in one of the top 10 tourist destinations in Florida. The Key West Lighthouse is something that I have driven past for years but I never made the trek up to the top. This is where my fear of heights comes in … it’s taller than you think it is and man those steps are small and the spiral part doesn’t help. I did make it to the top … with my heart pounding, legs shaking and Scott laughing at me! He thought this whole thing was hilarious.
“The current lighthouse opened in 1848 with a woman as its Keeper; nearly unheard of during the 19th century. In the years following, the Key West Lighthouse underwent a number of upgrades including the installation of a Third Order Fresnel Lens, an extension to the tower which allowed the light to be seen from a greater distance, the addition of Keeper’s Quarters, and finally the electrification of the light.
In 1969, the U.S. Coast Guard decommissioned the Key West Lighthouse since there was no longer a need for a full-time Keeper due to technological advancements. Today, this sentinel of the sea stands as a museum dedicated to Key West’s maritime heritage and to the men and women who bravely kept the light burning through the threats of war and weather.
Today, visitors can walk up the 88 steps to the top of the light as well as explore the belongings, photographs, and words of the lighthouse Keepers and their families who lived a now obsolete, yet never forgotten, way of life.”
– See more at: http://www.kwahs.org
Here are also some of the photos that I took and edited in Photoshop. They came out a little abstract.
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