as part of a national effort to save historic lighthouses that have dotted the U.S. coast for more than a century. An Islamorada community group that is spending $6 million to restore and preserve the Alligator Reef Lighthouse turned on its new solar-powered lights on Saturday to remind the public about the effort.
Alligator and five other aging lighthouses off the Keys were important maritime navigational aids that once warned ships away from the area's barrier coral reef. But modern-day satellite navigation made open-water lighthouses obsolete and such structures are being disposed of by the General Services Association. A detailed engineering study of Alligator Lighthouse was completed to determine stabilization needs after many years in highly corrosive conditions.