Windward Point Light, US Naval Station, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
Built in 1904.
WINDWARD POINT LIGHT
Location: ON BLUFF POINT, EAST SIDE OF ENTRANCE TO GUANTANAMO BAY, CUBA
Station Established: 1898
Date Built: 1904
Operational: No
Automated: Yes, year?
Deactivated: 1955; reactivated in 1988 with a solar light
Type of Structure: White cylindrical steel tower, molded copper cupola
Height: 60-feet
Lens: Fourth Order (1904-?); LHB optic (?-1966); 36-inch Airway Beacon (DCB-36; installed 1966)
Characteristic: Flashing white, obscured from 166° to 274°
Foghorn: None
Historical Information
- The lighthouse was built in the US. It was one of the first all steel structures built. It was shipped to Cuba in 1904. The interior is tongue-and-groove mahogany. The weather vane on top of the cupola contains “O” for ouest which is Spanish for west.
- The light was deactivated in 1955. The light was moved to a skeletal tower nearby. In 1988 a solar light was placed in the cupola.
- The keeper’s cottage currently houses the Guantanamo Bay Naval Station Cultural Historical Collection. The collection contains hundreds of old photographs from the Spanish American War, WWI, WWII, Vietnam, as well an enormous amount of memorabilia from the 100 years the United States Marine Corps has been on Guantanamo Bay.
- The collection is open to the public but the lighthouse is not.
Researched and written by Melissa Buckler, a member of the Chesapeake Chapter of the U.S. Light House Society.