Key West Area Lighthouses Lighthouse
Location & Light Range
About Key West Area Lighthouses Lighthouse
Built in 1880, the American Shoal Lighthouse is an octagonal pyramidal tower constructed from wrought iron. Standing 33.5 meters tall and painted red, it features a two-story keeper's house on its central platform. This structure was erected to guide vessels safely past the hazardous American Shoal, southeast of Key West, Florida. The lighthouse underwent repainting and repairs in 2003. It was deactivated in 2015 and subsequently added to the Lighthouse Digest Doomsday List. In 2019, it became available for transfer under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act and was sold at auction in May 2022.
Why it matters: The American Shoal Lighthouse served to warn ships away from the dangerous American Shoal in busy shipping lanes southeast of Key West. Its distinctive octagonal pyramidal wrought iron design is notable among straightpile towers.
Tower & Structure
- Tower Height
- 33.5m
- Tower Shape
- octagonal pyramidal
- Tower Color
- red
- Material
- wrought iron
Structure: A 33.5m (110 ft) octagonal pyramidal wrought iron straightpile tower, painted red, features an octagonal 2-story keeper's house on its central platform.
Location
- Country
- 🇺🇸United States
- Region
- Florida
- Sea Region
- Southeast of Key West, Florida, marking the American Shoal
- Latitude
- 24.5251°
- Longitude
- -81.5194°
Nearby Vessels
Construction & History
- Year Built
- 1880
- Heritage Status
- Endangered, Lighthouse Digest Doomsday List (2015), available for transfer under NHLPA (2019)
Significant events: repainted and repaired in 2003, added to the Lighthouse Digest Doomsday List in 2015, Coast Guard rescued 20 Cuban migrants clinging to the lighthouse in May 2016, available for transfer under NHLPA in 2019, placed on auction sale in February 2022, sold in May for $860,000
References & Identifiers
- Nearest Port
- Summerland Key(8.8 km)
- USCG No.
- 3-1015
- ARLHS No.
- USA-011
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