Alligator Reef Light
National Register of Historic Places

Alligator Reef Light

Islamorada, Monroe County, Florida
Listed
December 1, 2011
Type
Structure
Period
Civil War
Ref No.
11000860

About this property

Alligator Reef Light is located 4 nautical miles (7.4 km; 4.6 mi) east of Indian Key, near the Matecumbe Keys of Florida in the United States, north of Alligator Reef itself. The station was established in 1873. It was automated in 1963 and was last operational in July, 2014, and is being replaced by a 16' steel structure with a less powerful light located adjacent to it. The structure is an iron pile skeleton with a platform. The light is 136 feet (41 m) above the water. It is a white octagonal pyramid skeleton framework on black pile foundation, enclosing a square dwelling and a stair-cylinder. The lantern is black. The original lens was a first order bivalve Fresnel lens. The light characteristic of the original light was: flashing white and red, every third flash red, from SW by W 1/2 W through southward to NE 1/8 E, and from NE by E 3/4 E through northward to SW 3/8 S; flashing red throughout the intervening sectors; interval between flashes 5 seconds. It had a nominal range of 14 nautical miles (26 km; 16 mi) in the white sectors and 11 nautical miles (20 km; 13 mi) in the red sectors. The new light has a range of approximately 7 nautical miles (13 km; 8.1 mi). It is listed as number 980 in the USCG light lists.

Location

Islamorada, Monroe County, Florida
24.85362, -80.61862

Categories

MARITIME HISTORYTRANSPORTATIONENGINEERING
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Tres Puentes Shipwreck Site
Listed
3.6 mi
SAN PEDRO (shipwreck)
Listed
3.6 mi
Herrara Shipwreck Site
Listed
4 mi
Matecumbe Methodist Church Cemetery
Listed
4.4 mi
Florida Keys Memorial
Listed
4.5 mi

Questions about this property

When was Alligator Reef Light listed on the National Register?

Alligator Reef Light was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 1, 2011.

What type of historic resource is Alligator Reef Light?

Alligator Reef Light is classified as a structure in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Alligator Reef Light?

The period of significance for Alligator Reef Light is recorded as the civil_war era, specifically around 1873.

Can I research the history near Alligator Reef Light?

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