Faro de Culebrita

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Construction of Culebrita Lighthouse began on September 25, 1882, and finished on February 25, 1886. Building this lighthouse was a challenging task because the island remained largely undeveloped at that time. A wooden dock was first constructed for offloading supplies delivered by ship to shore. The vessel had been anchored offshore. Next, workers had to carve out a road from the island using picks and shovels to reach the construction site located 305 feet above sea level. The plans for Culebrita Lighthouse called for a one-of-a-kind T-shaped stone structure with the thirty-seven-foot tower situated along the vertical portion of the 'T'. The base section of the 'T' housed an oil room and storeroom, while on the opposite side of the tower, a corridor led to two identical apartments, one on the left and one on the right. Each apartment consisted of three rooms measuring 10 feet by 12 feet and a kitchen/dining area measuring approximately 13 feet by 15 feet. A hurricane swept over the island of Culebrita on October 9-10, 1916. The lighthouse keeper and his assistant filled in the gap left by broken glass with planks and blankets to prevent interruption to the light's service during the storm. They replaced the broken glass throughout the day. The estimated wind speed during this hurricane reached 125 miles per hour. A powerful earthquake was felt at Culebrita Lighthouse on August 1, 1927. This caused the light equipment to oscillate but no damage occurred.