Charleston Light (Sullivan's Island)

It might be the ugliest lighthouse you’ve ever seen.  It used to be worse.  The 163-foot black-and-white triangular tower was once painted red-orange and white.

While it lacks the mystique of what many lighthouse lovers adore, it is Charleston’s only operating lighthouse.

Once, Charleston Light was the second-most powerful light in the Western Hemisphere.  Here’s what Lighthousefriends.com has to say about the powerful beam:

When first activated on June 15, 1962, the lighthouse featured an amazing 28 million candlepower light, produced by carbon arc lamps costing $900 apiece, that was the second brightest in the western hemisphere. This powerful beam proved dangerous to its keepers and bothersome to its neighbors.
—Read more about Charleston Light on Lighthousefriends.com

Is Charleston Light worth a visit?  Kind of.  Sullivan’s Island is a great place, and you can get reasonably close to the tower on the beach at Station 17.  But don’t expect any lighthouse tours because there are none.

Our Charleston guide is a work in progress. Please bear with us.