Sanibel Island Lighthouse, Florida Photo Print

"Sanibel Island Lighthouse, Florida" by Catherine Sherman. The Sanibel Island Light, or Point Ybel Light, was one of the first lighthouses on Florida's Gulf coast north of Key West and the Dry Tortugas. The light, 98-foot above sea level, on an iron skeleton tower was first lit on August 20, 1884 and has a central spiral staircase beginning about 10 feet above the ground. The lighthouse stands on the eastern tip of Sanibel Island, and was built to mark the entrance to San Carlos Bay for ships calling at the port of Punta Rassa, across San Carlos Bay from Sanibel Island. The grounds are open to the public, but the lighthouse itself is not. The lighthouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1974. The City of Sanibel now owns the Point Ybel tract and structures, although the tower is still operational under U.S. Coast Guard control. (In 2022, Hurricane Ian severely damaged the station, destroying both keeper’s houses and all of the remaining outbuildings. The tower lost one leg, but was still standing as of September 29, 2022.)