National Register of Historic Places
Sombrero Key Light
Marathon vicinity, Monroe County, Florida
The record
- Listed
- March 9, 2012
- Type
- Structure
- Address
- Offshore approx. 5.5 mi. SSW. of Marathon, Marathon vicinity
- County
- Monroe
- State
- Florida
- Contributing resources
- 1 structure
- Coordinates
- 24.62918, -81.11085
- Reference number
- 12000092
USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection
The story
Written by AI from this property's National Register nomination and the record above; every sentence is checked against its sources before it appears here. Corrections: privacy@treealive.com
Sombrero Key Light is an offshore lighthouse near Marathon, in Monroe County, Florida, about 5.5 miles southwest of the town. It was built from 1856 to 1858 as an octagonal pyramidal skeletal tower with iron walls.
Why it's listed
It was listed in the National Register in 2012 under criteria A and C, with local significance in maritime history, transportation and engineering. Its period of significance spans 1858, when the light was first lit, to 1960, when it was automated.
Physical character
The iron skeletal tower rises 154 feet in seven tiers atop nine iron disk piles, with its focal plane 142 feet above sea level. A central stair cylinder, 90 feet tall and 7 feet across, holds a cast iron spiral stairway of 128 treads. The cylindrical lantern is about 11.5 feet across and 10 feet tall, glazed with 96 triangular panes in a helical pattern, under a cast iron classical cornice.
Historical context
Lieutenant George G. Meade proposed the light at Coffins Patch in 1854 and served as its architect; a hurricane halted construction in 1856, and it was completed in 1858. It operated with resident keepers until it was automated in 1960, and in 1997 the container ship Houston ran aground.