Another lighthouse existed before this one.
It was built in 1825 about twelve hundred feet from the present one, but a hurricane destroyed it in 1846 and claimed the lives of fourteen people who had taken shelter inside.
Hurricanes are particularly brutal in the Keys, since there is nothing to buffer the onslaught of either wind or water and in 1935, one of the worst hurricanes in history hit the area. It destroyed much of the Keys .
The builders of the present lighthouse used foresight in their plans.
Using chisels, they gouged their way through the tough coral bedrock, making a round hole several feet deep and using this as a base on which to begin laying brick.
This entire brick structure took only 48 days to complete at a cost of $7,247.
The lighthouse was officially taken out of commission in 1969 after 121 years of continuous service.
Eighty-three-year-old Mary Bethel was given the honor of extinguishing the light.
She had served as assistant keeper alongside her husband for seventeen years and as head keeper for an additional ten years after he died.
The light didn't stay dark for long, however.
The Key West Historical Society came to its rescue and completed its restoration of this beautiful landmark in 1989.
You can climb the eighty-eight steps to the top of the eighty-six-foot-tall lighthouse and get a good view not only of Ernest Hemingway's house directly across the street but also of the entire town of Key West.
