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Florida’s Cape St. George Lighthouse now has a new replica 3rd order Fresnel lens on display at its Visitors Center and Museum in St. George Island, Florida. The new lens was made and installed by Dan Spinella of Artworks Florida Classic Lenses LLC.
The Cape St. George Light Station dates back to 1833, but the current structure is part of the remains of the tower that was built in 1852 and toppled over in 2005 from a combination of storms and erosion. Using many of the original bricks from the toppled lighthouse, the St. George Reef Lighthouse Association rebuilt the tower in 2008-2009 at a new location. In 2011 the Visitors Center and Museum was opened in a replica of the lighthouse keeper’s house that the group had constructed.
Although the St. George Lighthouse Association believed that they had located the original 3rd order lens that had once been in the tower, negotiations to get the lens back failed, so they voted to have a new replica lens manufactured.
Additionally, they also hired Kurt Fosburg of Superior Lighthouse Restoration to manufacture a replica of the original lamp that would have been used to light the lens.
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