A Visit to the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum

St. Augustine Lighthouse circa 1874

The Lighthouse & Maritime Museum was my favorite historic site we visited during our trip to St. Augustine. Who doesn't love a good lighthouse? 

St. Augustine's initial watchtower was built by the Spanish in the 1500s and stood more or less in this same spot. The first U.S. lighthouse in this location (again, more or less) dates back to 1824. When the structure began succumbing to the sea in the 1870s, the current lighthouse was built a bit further ashore. It stands 165 feet tall, and its beacon can be seen as far as 24 nautical miles away. (As you probably know, a nautical mile is a bit longer than a land mile due to the curvature of the earth.) These facts, while interesting enough, are a bit dry. What was fun about our visit was the experiential component.  

Not surprisingly, the only way to get to the top of the lighthouse is to climb. The Museum has made this journey -- 219  steps -- a bit less painful by featuring great graphics with fun facts along the way. The info that made the biggest impression on me was that you burn 24 calories going up all those steps and 11 calories coming down. What???!!! That seems like an impossibly small number. Not to mention, why give us this discouraging factoid in the midst of the climb? The only reason I can think of is providing visitors with full disclosure before they feel entitled to have dessert with dinner. Now back to some history. 

The lighthouse wasn't electrified until 1936. Until then, the lighthouse keepers had to climb the steps multiple times each night with fuel to feed the oil lamp that lit the lighthouse's beacon. Visitors had the opportunity to lift a bucket to get a sense of what that task would have been like. I could barely get it off the ground. In my defense, it weighed 30 pounds (the equivalent of the bucket filled with oil), but I'm still hoping my trainer doesn't read this post. The bottom line is that the lighthouse keeper had to be pretty darn strong. 

It's worth noting that there were two female lighthouse keepers who undertook this task along with the other duties involved in keeping the lighthouse operating. Maria Andreu assumed these responsibilities in 1859 after her husband fell to his death painting the lighthouse tower. She was the second Hispanic-American to serve in the Coast Guard, the branch of the Armed Services with responsibility for the lighthouse. (Her husband was the first.) 

The second woman to hold this position was Kate Harn. She inherited the role in 1889 after her husband died of tuberculosis. Harn held the job for six months, the time necessary for her husband's pension to best. Harn juggled this job with raising the couple's five daughters who still lived at home. (Their sixth daughter was already out in the world.) Color me impressed.

The Fresnel Lens

When you arrive at the topmost landing of the lighthouse, you are eye level with the Fourth-Order Fresnel lens that serves as the lighthouse's beacon. (The "order" refers to its size and strength, with lower numbers being more powerful.) Each angle and curve of the lens has been precisely measured to magnify the reach of the light. 

The 20+ mile reach of the beam wasn't always a good thing. During WWII the Germans targeted Allied ships illuminated by the light. After a few months the powers that be figured out the problem and instituted a blackout. The strength of the lighthouse beam was lowered from the equivalent of a 1,000 watt bulb to a 50 watt bulb. Four miles of inland lights were dimmed as well. "The Second Happy Time" of the Germans came to an end. 

Taking in the view with Oscar

When you get to the top of the lighthouse, you're rewarded with a lovely view of Matanzas Bay, the Atlantic and the St. Augustine skyline. Then, of course, you walk down the 219 steps to exit the building. Did I mention before that it's a narrow spiral staircase? I actually found the ascent easier than the descent. 

While the Lighthouse is the draw, there's more to explore at the site. You can tour the watchkeeper's house (which was surprisingly grand). You can watch traditional boatmaking in action compliments of the folks at Heritage Boatworks. (The wooden boats made me think of my days in Nova Scotia.) And there's an education center with interactive exhibits to amuse even the youngest visitor. It's all very well done. On my next visit to St. Augustine, I'll go for one of the Ghost Tours. You get to climb the lighthouse using only a glow stick for illumination. What could go wrong? 

For more on the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum, click here. It's a must-see/do if you're in the area. In the meantime, may your holidays be as bright as the beam of the St. Augustine Lighthouse.