Cape Florida Lighthouse
The oldest standing structure in Miami-Dade County. It survived a Seminole attack in 1836 that killed the assistant keeper and left the head keeper trapped in the lantern room for hours.
The Cape Florida Lighthouse was built in 1825 at the southern tip of Key Biscayne. In July 1836, during the Second Seminole War, a party of warriors attacked the lighthouse. The assistant keeper was killed. The head keeper, John Thompson, climbed to the top of the tower and pulled up the ladder. The warriors set fire to the wooden staircase. Thompson survived by lying on the iron floor of the lantern room as the fire burned below him.
The lighthouse is in Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park at the southern tip of Key Biscayne. The park charges $8 per vehicle. Lighthouse tours run Thursday–Monday at 10am and 1pm — rangers lead the climb to the top. The view from the lantern room is one of the best in Miami.
The lighthouse was decommissioned in 1878 and restored in 1996. The keeper's cottage is also restored and furnished as it would have been in the 1850s. The beach at Bill Baggs is consistently ranked among the best in the country. The lighthouse is the reason to go.