Inside the St. Augustine Light Station Lighthouse
by Mitch Spence
Title
Inside the St. Augustine Light Station Lighthouse
Artist
Mitch Spence
Medium
Photograph
Description
The black iron stairs curve dramatically. The gray stone textures surround them. The single window, the extraordinary bright spot in an alcove off the center tower, is striking, and the single, small, blue curtain on one of its panes is as well. St. Augustine Light Station is the name of the complex, including the buildings around the lighthouse itself.
The St. Augustine lighthouse, built in the 1870s, has been restored and preserved in working order (to the appearance as in 1888) by a private, nonprofit group in this oldest city in the United States. According to the restoration group, it took over one million bricks to construct the lighthouse and outfit it with its distinctive black and white paint job, or daymark. There are 219 steps to the top of the tower. From the top, one can see such historic sights as the Castillo de San Marcos, Flagler College, Vilano Beach, and the Bridge of Lions.
According to the site information concerning St. Augustine itself, "The Treaty of Paris in 1763 ended the Seven Years' War and awarded the Spanish colony of La Florida to Great Britain. The British split the colony into East and West Florida, which became the 14th and 15th British colonies in North America. Though a part of British North America, East Florida did not rebel against Great Britain. The British heightened the lighthouse, imported troops and colonists, established indigo plantations, and shipped oranges and naval stores back home. East Florida, with St. Augustine as its capital, spent 20 years as the 14th British colony, until the American Revolution forced the British to grant the colony back to Spain."
Uploaded
July 22nd, 2022
Embed
Share
Comments (1)
Claudia O'Brien
This is beautiful, Mitch! The textures are wonderful, love the steps! My favorite element of all is the peek of blue through the glass pane. F Also--wonderful description....I did not know that East Florida was a colony at one time. I must have dozed during that aspect of Florida history.