Cape San Juan Light

Cape San Juan Light

View from the top of the lighthouse
Cape San Juan Light
Location Fajardo, Puerto Rico
Coordinates 18°22′52.″N 65°37′5.7″W / 18.38111°N 65.618250°W / 18.38111; -65.618250Coordinates: 18°22′52.″N 65°37′5.7″W / 18.38111°N 65.618250°W / 18.38111; -65.618250
Year first lit 1882
Automated 1975
Foundation Stone[1]
Construction Stone
Tower shape Cylindrical
Markings / pattern White with black around the base and a black lantern
Height 45 feet (14 m)[1]
Original lens Third order Fresnel[1]
ARLHS number

PUR-021

Faro de las Cabezas de San Juan
Architectural style Neoclassic
MPS Lighthouse System of Puerto Rico TR
NRHP Reference # 81000692[2]
Added to NRHP October 22, 1981

Cape San Juan Light (Faro de Las Cabezas de San Juan) is a historic lighthouse located on the northeastern part of the highest point of Cape San Juan in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. The lighthouse was constructed in 1880 and was officially lit on May 2, 1882. The original illuminating apparatus, not changed until after 1898, had an 18-mile (29 km) range and displayed a fixed white light which every three minutes flashed red.

Front of the lighthouse

The lighthouse owned by the Puerto Rico Conservation Trust is part of the Las Cabezas de San Juan natural reserve. The 316-acre (128 ha) reserve includes a bioluminescence bay, rare flora and fauna, various trails and boardwalks, and scientific research center. Despite its small size, the reserve shelters seven different ecological systems, including beaches, lagoons, dry forest, coral reefs and mangroves.

In 1898, the lighthouse played a major role in the Battle of Fajardo during the Puerto Rican Campaign of the Spanish–American War. The lighthouse was listed in the National Register of Historic Places by the United States government on October 22, 1981.

In 2001, under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act, it became the first lighthouse to be transferred to a non-governmental organization in Puerto Rico.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Cape San Juan Light". Inventory of Historic Light Stations. National Park Service. September 18, 2006. Retrieved March 22, 2009.
  2. ↑ National Park Service (2008-04-15). "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service.
  3. ↑ "Deputy Secretary Scarlett Leads Ceremony Transferring Las Cabezas de San Juan Lighthouse to The Conservation Trust of Puerto Rico". U.S. Department of the Interior. Archived from the original on May 7, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-08.

External links

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