National Register of Historic Places

Sombrero Key Light

Marathon, Monroe County, Florida
Listed
March 9, 2012
Type
Structure
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
12000092

About this property

Sombrero Key Light is located offshore of Vaca Key in Marathon, Florida. The lighthouse is located on a mostly submerged reef. The name Sombrero Key goes back to the Spanish, and old charts show a small island at the spot, but by the later 19th Century the island had eroded, with some parts of the reef exposed at low tide. As a result, the reef and the lighthouse have also been called Dry Banks. The lighthouse was put in service in 1858, automated in 1960, and was deactivated in 2015. The foundation is iron pilings with disks, and the tower is a skeletal octagonal pyramid of cast iron. It is a 142-foot (43 m) tall red painted tower. It has two platforms. The lower one, 15 feet (4.6 m) above the water, held water and fuel tanks, the generator (after the light was electrified), boat hoists and a workshop. The upper platform, 40 feet (12 m) above the water, held the quarters for the staff. The original lens, a first-order Fresnel lens, is now on display in the Key West Lighthouse Museum. The Sombrero Key Light is the tallest lighthouse in the Florida Keys, and was the last lighthouse constructed under the supervision of Lieutenant George Meade of the Bureau of Topographical Engineers.

Location

Marathon, Monroe County, Florida
24.62918, -81.11085

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

Pigeon Key Historic District
Listed
5.9 mi
Adderley, George, House
Industrial
6.7 mi
Overseas Highway and Railway Bridges (Boundary Increase)
Industrial
14 mi
Sueco de Arizon Shipwreck Site
Listed
17.4 mi
Angustias Shipwreck Site
Listed
19.2 mi

Questions about this property

When was Sombrero Key Light listed on the National Register?

Sombrero Key Light was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 9, 2012.

What type of historic resource is Sombrero Key Light?

Sombrero Key Light is classified as a structure in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Sombrero Key Light?

The period of significance for Sombrero Key Light is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Sombrero Key Light?

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