150-year-old Florida Keys lighthouse illuminated for first time in a decade

ISLAMORADA, Fla. (AP) — A 150-year-old beacon that helped guide ships through the treacherous Florida Keys coral reefs before GPS, sonar and other technology made it obsolete is shining again. 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. The lighthouse began operating in 1873 and stayed lit until about 2013. It is named after the USS Alligator, a Navy schooner that ran aground on the reef in 1822 and sank. 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.