St. Augustine Light, FL.

Dawn - October 15, 1874

“The Last Curtain Call”

At dawn, on the morning of October 15, 1874, keeper William Russell would turn off the lamp of the old St. Augustine Lighthouse for the final time. Also, as a last duty he would lower the curtains that protected the light’s 4th order lens. That evening he would have the honor to light the new St. Augustine Tower's 1st order Fresnel lens after raising its protective curtains. On June 20, 1880 a storm would topple the old tower into the sea. Today, only rubble remains to mark the old tower’s existence.

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