Jupiter Lighthouse
The Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse
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| Location | North side of the Jupiter Inlet in Jupiter, Florida |
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| Year first constructed | 1860 |
| Year first lit | 1860 |
| Automated | 1928 |
| Foundation | Concrete |
| Construction | Brick |
| Tower shape | Conical tower/cylindrical tower |
| Height | Tower: 105 feet (32 m), above water: 153 feet (47 m) |
| Original lens | First order Fresnel lens |
| Range | 25 nautical miles (46 km; 29 mi) |
| Characteristic | Fixed white varied by two white flashes every 30 seconds |
| Admiralty number | J2922 |
| ARLHS number | USA-411 |
| USCG number | 3-0725 |
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Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse
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Location in Florida
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| Coordinates | 26°56′56.6″N 80°05′0.1″W / 26.949056°N 80.083361°WCoordinates: 26°56′56.6″N 80°05′0.1″W / 26.949056°N 80.083361°W |
| Architect | John Nystrem |
| NRHP Reference # | 73000597 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | October 15, 1973 |
| Designated ONA | May 8, 2008 |
The Jupiter Inlet Light is located in Jupiter, Florida, on the north side of the Jupiter Inlet. The site for the lighthouse was chosen in 1853. It is located between Cape Canaveral Light and Hillsboro Inlet Light. The lighthouse was designed by then Lieutenant George G. Meade of the Bureau of Topographical Engineers. Meade's design was subsequently modified by Lieutenant William Raynolds. The Jupiter Inlet silted shut in 1854, forcing all building supplies to be shipped in light boats down the Indian River. Work was interrupted from 1856 to 1858 by the Third Seminole War. The lighthouse was completed under the supervision of Captain Edward A. Yorke in 1860 at a cost of more than $60,000.
The lighthouse was built on a hill once thought to be an Indian shell mound or midden (and sometimes falsely rumored to be a burial mound), but which is now determined to be a natural parabolic sand dune. The top of the 105-foot (32 m) tower is 153 feet (47 m) above sea level. The light can be seen 24 nautical miles (44 km; 28 mi) at sea. The lighthouse structure is brick with double masonry walls. The outer wall is conical, tapering from 31.5 inches (800 mm) (eight bricks thick) at ground level to 18 inches (460 mm) (three bricks thick) at base of lantern. The inner wall is cylindrical and two bricks thick throughout. Circumference at base is about 65 feet (20 m) and at the top about 43 feet (13 m). The lighthouse was painted red in 1910 to cover discoloration caused by humidity. Hurricane Jeanne in 2004 sandblasted the paint from the upper portion of the tower, and the tower was repainted using a potassium silicate mineral coating.
The point of land which sits at the junction of the Indian River and Jupiter Inlet for thousands of years had been a meeting place for ancient Indian tribes. This strategic site did not go unnoticed by US Army surveyors who in 1849 recommended the Jupiter Inlet area as a suitable place for military defenses. President Franklin Pierce signed the order to set aside a 61½-acre site on the Fort Jupiter Reservation for a lighthouse in 1854.
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Wikipedia