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Photo courtesy of
Lighthouse Getaway.
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Hillsboro Inlet Lighthouse guards the northern limit of the Florida Reef at Pompano Beach, but it was the last light built along the dangerous southeastern shore. The 137-foot iron-pile structure was featured at the 1904 St. Louis Exposition to demonstrate the abilities of a Midwestern steel company. Bought by the government, it was moved to Hillsboro Inlet and became operational by 1907. Hillsboro Light is called the “Big Diamond” because its lantern is made of curved, diamond-shaped French glass panes. The original oil lamps were replaced by electrical lamps in 1932 and by a powerful 1,000-watt, quartz-iodine bulb in 1966. A radio beacon was added after World War II. Today, its 20-second flash through its original second-order Fresnel lens can be seen 25 miles out to sea. The lighthouse can be viewed across the inlet from a waterfront park on Highway A1A.
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