Visitors to Puerto Rico today, whether
arriving by air or on a cruise ship, have an excellent view of the
Castillo de San Felipe del Morro, a fortress that has protected San Juan
harbor since the mid-16th Century.
Puerto Rico’s first lighthouse was erected atop this
fort in 1843. It was replaced by a second tower in 1876; this was itself
heavily damaged during the Spanish-American War.
Finally, in 1908 the U.S. Navy built the present
Moorish style lighthouse on the foundation of the 1876 light. The square
tower has a third order Fresnel lens with a focal plane of 181’ above the
water. The light flashes at 10 second intervals with every fourth flash
blocked.
The fortress was handed over to the National Park
Service in 1961 to be preserved as a museum. In 1983, it was declared a
‘World Heritage Site’ by the United Nations. The National Park Service
restored the lighthouse in 1991. Although, the grounds are open to the
public, the lighthouse is not.
