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From 1963 to 1973 it was called
Cape Kennedy.
Adjacent to the north side of the Port is the John F. Kennedy Space Center, NASA. Seven miles to the south
of the City is Patrick Air Force Base. This strategic Florida location places the City in the center of America's space
facilities and immediately adjacent to Port Canaveral, the only deep water port between Fort Lauderdale and Jacksonville.
~ Cape Canaveral Lighthouse
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The Cape Canaveral Lighthouse is located on the Cape Canaveral
Air Force Station and is generally not open for public access. It can be seen up close from the NASA tour bus in passing
or from the beach in Cape Canaveral but you will need binoculars.
The lighthouse construction was completed in 1847.
It was made of brick and 60-feet tall. After many complaints that the light was not sufficient and could not be seen,
a "new" lighthouse was built in 1868. Constructed of iron plates and lined with brick, with a new height of 160-feet.
This is the same lighthouse in use today.
Shoreline erosion threatened the site of the lighthouse in
the late 1880's. The lighthouse was moved to it's present location in 1894. It took 18 months to complete the
move.
The lighthouse is functional today, however, the original
fresnel lens was replaced with a modern optic in 1993. Cape Canaveral's fresnel lens is on display at Ponce DeLeon Inlet Lighthouse
& Museum.
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