Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse, built in 1860, is Palm Beach County’s oldest existing structure. Scott Simmons/The Coastal Star
Drive 50 miles north of Hillsboro Inlet and you’ll find the Jupiter Inlet Lighthouse & Museum.
Which is taller?
Well, that depends.
Hillsboro Inlet’s tower stands an unambiguous 142 feet above ground.
The Jupiter Inlet lighthouse claims 156 feet, but the Loxahatchee River Historical Society, which operates the site, is quick to acknowledge that 48 of those feet are the old Native American shell mound on which it stands.
The tower itself is only 108 feet.
Jupiter’s lighthouse is shorter, but also much older — first illuminated on July 10, 1860, almost a half-century before Hillsboro Inlet first saw light.
When it’s illuminated, the light at Jupiter Inlet is a 1,000-watt quartz-iodine bulb, visible 24 miles at sea.
Where: 500 Capt. Armour’s Way, Jupiter. From I-95, exit Indiantown Road east, turn left/north at U.S. Highway 1. Turn right/east at Alternate A1A/Beach Road. Turn first right into
Lighthouse Park.
When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week January through April; closed on Mondays, May through December. Last tour leaves at 4 p.m.
Admission: Adults, $9. Children 6-18, $5. Children 5 and younger and active U.S. military with ID admitted free.
Note: The lighthouse will be closed April 8.
For more information, call (561) 747-8380 or visit www.jupiterlighthouse.org.
— Ron Hayes
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