Cape Canaveral Lighthouse

Introduction of the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse

MichaelStephenWills

Here is the first in a series of photographs centered on the early history of space flight on Cape Canaveral. All were taken during a tour organized by the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse Foundation. Google the foundation for details of future tours. Here we enjoy several views of the lighthouse with historical and maritime background.

Daymark

The lighthouse is in the background (to the left of diving osprey) of this photograph from a previous posting, “Dive!!.” The structure exists to warn ships of dangerous, shallow shoals that begin 13.5 miles from the cape. The visible pattern of the tower, called daymark, identifies it as the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse. From here it is a little more than 10 miles distant, so its daymark is visible to alert observers from beyond the most distant shoals on a clear day.

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Lighthouse Daymark from 10.1 miles

The daymark for this lighthouse is black and white stripes of a specific width, it is unique and visible long distances depending on the weather. The black lantern room (top of tower) is also a daymark element. At night, the light is identified by the frequency of flashes.

Photograph by Pam Wills from her Samsung Galaxy

Brief History

The historical sign is a good beginning. I love to photograph these details.
There is a story behind this monument, the top plaque duplicates much of the sign text given above. Here is the text from the side plaque: “Composed of bricks from the Original Cape Lighthouse. Built by Eagle Scout Kenneth Wyse, Troop 705 (in the year) 2002.”

Lighthouse Portrait

The angle of the first lighthouse photograph is very appealing, though this one is superior for documentary purposes. The structure is two shells. The exterior shell is cast-iron panels, each numbered for disassembly/reassembly in the event the structure must be moved. Inside is a shell of fired clay bricks with an air space between shells. As is captioned in the preceeding photograph, the monument is constructed of bricks from the first installation. The lighthouse was moved in the 19th century due to changing shoreline.

Copyright 2022 Michael Stephen Wills All Rights Reserved.

23 thoughts on “Cape Canaveral Lighthouse”

    1. They are similar, but significantly different. Florida has six bands and the top band is white. Dutch has five bands, top band is black. You mentioned the different shape. I like your designation as “cast iron”. In my text I wrote “iron” will change it to cast iron (as it obviously is). Both are magnificant structures and very important.

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    1. Thanks for the link, Emma. Whitford lighthouse is a marvelous structure and I see it is listed as a “Scheduled Ancient Monument.” Sorry to see it is neglected. there was a light in the 1980’s, now it is dark still useful for navigation in daylight. I was a little disoriented at first, expecting it to be on Ireland’s west coast….it eventually “sunk in” to be in Wales.

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