Faro de las Cabezas de San Juan
The Spanish erected the lighthouse, officially lit on May 2, 1882, on the spot judged, in 1782, by Fray Iñigo Abbad y Lasierra, writer of the first formal history of Puerto Rico, as "the reference point of those who regularly navigate these islands." Inside, facing the main entrance, a corridor leads to an eight-step stairway ascending into the lighthouse tower. An elaborate, richly decorated cast-iron stairway leads to the stone central lantern. The original illuminating apparatus, not changed until after 1898, had an 18-mile range and displayed a fixed white light which every three minutes flashed red. This neo-classic structure appears castle-like with the parapet in the portico's roof and with the tower's rectangular cornice in the middle section. The lighthouse is located within the Las Cabezas de San Juan Nature Reserve, and is managed by the Conservation Trust of Puerto Rico.
Faro de las Cabezas de San Juan is located on the northeastern part of the highest point of Cape San Juan in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. The reserve is open to the public Friday-Sunday, closed major holidays including Epiphany and Good Friday. Visitors to the site can explore the Nature Center, located in the lighthouse, or follow trails into the reserve's different ecological settings. Tours are scheduled at 9:30am, 10:30am and 1:30pm. There is a fee for admission and reservations are required. For reservations call the Conservation Trust of Puerto Rico at 787-722-5882 and 787-860-2560 on the weekends. Faro de las Cabezas de San Juan has also been documented by the Historic American Engineering Record.
Information and photos courtesy of the National Register for Historic Places Puerto Rico Travel Itinerary, a subsidiary of the National Park Service.
