Visiting Lighthouse

Not for the squeamish

BY MORGAN KIDWELL

Last week, my family and I went to the Key West lighthouse on Whitehead Street because my dad was visiting from Colorado and we wanted to show it to him. The lighthouse was built in 1848 and was 66 feet tall.  In 1894, the lighthouse added 20 more feet so it was visible for sailors and other boats so they could see during the night.  In 1969, the Navy decommissioned the lighthouse and it soon became a museum.

After you pay admission, you walk out of the gift shop and you’ll see the lighthouse, statutes of people from the 1800-1900, and a museum filled with artifacts and descriptions of information about the lighthouse. In the museum there is lots of information and things to look at and there are two wooden lighthouses on the walls with two phones on each side and when you press the button in the middle a lady (Mary Bethel) who used to be the innkeeper at the lighthouse talks about the lighthouse and her life. If you walk to the back there is a TV also explaining the Bethel family.

There is also a play room where young kids can go. After looking around the museum it was time to head to the 88 steps of the spiral staircase to the top. I was shaking when I was going up the stairs and so was my mom, but when we finally got up to the top and saw the amazing view, it was worth the climb. On the railing on the outside area of the top, there were pictures of some of the other fun places around Key West and it showed where they are and it had facts about the places.

We had a lot of fun and if you have family or friends coming to town you should go see it. But, make sure they don’t have a fear of heights!

 

 

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