Castillo San Felipe del Morro Lighthouse

Castillo San Felipe del Morro Lighthouse, also known as Faro de Morro Port San Juan Light by the National Register of Historic Places and colloquially Faro del Castillo del Morro and Puerto San Juan Light, is a lighthouse atop the walls of Castillo San Felipe del Morro in Old San Juan. It's the first lighthouse built in Puerto Rico.[2]

Photo of second lighthouse built on top of Castillo San Felipe del Morro, ca 1895
Castillo San Felipe del Morro Lighthouse
Castillo San Felipe del Morro Lighthouse
LocationSan Juan, Puerto Rico
Coordinates18°28′15.79″N 66°7′25.01″W
Year first lit1908 (rebuilt tower by the U.S Coast Guard )
Automated1962
FoundationFort
ConstructionBrick/Masonry (1908 tower)
Tower shapeSquare tower on castle
Markings / patternGray "Moorish revival"
Tower height15.5 metre 
Focal height55 metre 
Original lensThird order, Fresnel 1908
Range24 nautical mile 
CharacteristicFl(3) W 40s 
ARLHS numberPUR-005
Heritageplace listed on the National Register of Historic Places 
Faro del Morro
MPSLighthouse System of Puerto Rico TR
NRHP reference No.81000693 [1]
Added to NRHPOctober 22, 1981

The first Castillo San Felipe del Morro Lighthouse was built in 1846 and exhibited a light using five parabolic reflectors.[2] In 1876, a new octagonal iron tower was constructed atop the walls of the fort .[1] The tower was hit by U.S. artillery fire in the Puerto Rican Campaign of the Spanish–American War on May 12, 1898. The lighthouse was rebuilt in 1899 but developed structural problems and was demolished in 1906. The new and current lighthouse was constructed in 1908 as a Moorish Revival style "square tower on castle".[3] Public admission tours into the tower are held, and the Castillo San Felipe del Morro, along with Castillo San Cristóbal and much of the city walls are part of the San Juan National Historic Site also open to the public.

See also

References
  1. "Inventory of Historic Light Stations National Park Service". Retrieved 2009-03-27.
  2. "Lighthouse Friends- Puerto San Juan". Retrieved 2009-04-01.
  3. "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Puerto Rico". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01. Retrieved 2008-10-26.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.