Map Search    Florida Department of State « Previous    Visit a Lighthouse Alligator Reef Amelia Island American Shoal Anclote Key Boca Grande Cape Canaveral Cape Florida Cape San Blas Cape St. George Carysfort Reef Cedar Keys Crooked River Egmont Key Fowey Rocks Garden Key Gilbert's Bar House of Refuge Museum Hillsboro Inlet Jupiter Inlet Key West Loggerhead Key Pensacola Ponce de Leon Inlet Port Boca Grande Sand Key Sanibel Island Sombrero Key St. Augustine St. Johns Light Ship St. Johns Light Station St. Johns River St. Joseph Bay St. Marks ->Maritime Trail Home ->Lighthouses Home    Next » St. Augustine Photo courtesy of the Internet Public Library.     St. Augustine Lighthouse was the first built in Florida. The original tower was authorized by Congress and completed in 1824, although it fell into the sea in 1880. Anticipating the loss, the current 165-foot tower was built in 1874. The black-and-white tower is the state’s only spiral-banded lighthouse and it contains an original first-order Fresnel lens. Six flights of stairs offer visitors access to a spectacular view, and the keeper’s restored quarters give a glimpse into the often solitary life of the coast’s human sentinels. Automated in 1955, today the light flashes every 30 seconds. The keeper’s quarters house a museum, theater, and bookstore. Find out more: Additional Links: View more pictures of the St. Augustine Lighthouse View a map of the St. Augustine Lighthouse Communities | Environments | Forts | Lighthouses | Ports | Shipwrecks | Home The Florida Maritime Heritage Trail was created and is maintained by the Florida Department of State, Division of Historical Resources, with initial funding by Florida Coastal Management Program. Send comments to: [email protected]