Anclote Keys Light

Anclote Keys Light

Anclote Keys lighthouse as it appeared in 2005
Location	Pinellas County, Florida, near Tarpon Springs, Florida
Coordinates
Year first lit	1887
Automated	1952
Deactivated	1984, reactivated 2003
Foundation	pilings
Construction	cast iron
Tower shape	brown skeletal tower with central cylinder and black lantern
Height	110 feet (34 m)
Original lens	third-order Fresnel lens
Current lens	fourth-order Fresnel lens (reproduction)
Range	19 nautical miles (35 km; 22 mi)
Characteristic	White, Flashing group of 4, every 30 sec
Admiralty number	J3273
ARLHS number	USA-013
USCG number	3-1555
Anclote Key Lighthouse
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
Location	Southern end of Anclote Key Island, Anclote Key Island, Florida
Area	less than one acre
Built	1887
Architectural style	Other, cast-iron Skeletal Structure
NRHP Reference #	99000410
Added to NRHP	April 1, 1999

The Anclote Keys Light is a lighthouse built in 1887 on Anclote Key, the largest of the Anclote Keys. It is a skeletal square pyramidal tower, painted brown, with a black lantern. After the lighthouse was automated in 1952 the tower and other buildings at the site were often vandalized, interfering with the operation of the light. The Coast Guard determined that the light was no longer needed and deactivated it in 1984. The site was eventually turned over to the State of Florida and added to Anclote Key Preserve State Park. As of 2003 the lighthouse has been restored and relighted using a reproduction fourth-order Fresnel lens. Anclote Key is accessible only by boat.

Anclote Keys Lighthouse when it was still manned (U.S. Coast Guard archives)

It is listed as Anclote Key Light number 1555 in the USCG light lists.

Further reading

• McCarthy, Kevin M. 1990 Anclote Key Lighthouse. Florida Lighthouses. University of Florida Press, Gainesville, Florida.