The Fowey Rocks Lighthouse is located 6
.5 miles southeast of Key Biscayne, FL. It was the fifth wrought-iron structure to be built along the treacherous shoals. This 110-feet tower sits out in the open ocean. As mentioned in my previous post, this lighthouse was built in 1878 to take the place of The Cape Florida Lighthouse. The lantern room was fitted with a first-order Fresnel lens. Construction of everything took 2-years to complete, and included a two story keepers dwelling in the lower portion of the octagonal iron skeleton tower. A spiral staircase encased in a metal tubular structure was constructed from the dwelling up to the service room under the lantern room. If you click on the picture, you may be able to see the outline of the keeper's dwelling.
The light was automated in 1972, and then in 1983 the Fresnel lens removed from active service and replaced by a beacon type light. The Fresnel lens was placed on permanent display at the U.S. Coast Guard's National Aids to Navigation School in Yorktown, VA.
At the time of my visit here in 2001, this was an active light. I took this picture using a 500mm lens with 2X coupler on the camera with tripod.
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