BROWARD — The Broward County Historical Commission hosts Hillsboro Inlet: The History of the Big Diamond as part of its Brown Bag Historical Lunch Program.
The program will be at noon, Thursday, Oct. 24 at the commission, located at the West Side Grade School, 301 Harmon (S.W. 13th) Ave., Fort Lauderdale.
The Hillsboro Inlet was once a treacherous location for ships, as there was no lighthouse between what is now Miami and Jupiter. The frequent shipwrecks that occurred there persuaded a United States Geodetic Survey Team to study the area in 1894. This study ultimately led to the full funding and construction of the lighthouse. Inside, the lantern room houses a beaut ful, bi-valve Fresnel Lens that measures 3 meters (9 feet) in diameter with a 1.7 meter (5 feet) base. The curved-glass Fresnel lens with diamond shaped glass elements was something quite new and elegant when it debuted in 1906.
Historian Hib Casselberry and others from the Hillsboro Lighthouse Preservation Society will share the colorful history of the lighthouse, which is still called Big Diamond by locals. Attendees should bring their own lunch. Parking is available on the east and west side of the Historical Commission building in parking spaces yellow. On-street parking is also available on adjacent streets.
No Comment