La Farola del Mar

Santa Cruz de Tenerife · Category: Architecture · Subcategory: Civil architecture · Year: 1863 · Authors: Francisco Clavijo y Plo

La Farola del Mar is one of those few enduring symbols that has remained in Santa Cruz as a representative reflection of an era (1850-1950) and a place (The pier), which marked the historical development of the city.

This harbour lighthouse was established through the first General Plan for Maritime Lighting of the Coasts of the Canary Islands, approved in April 1857. Its function was to signal, by means of a medium-range light, the port of Santa Cruz, as an aid to ships attempting to arrive there at night.

The engineer Francisco Clavijo y Plo designed a hexagonal wooden tower assembled around a central post crowned by a lantern with a dome and a small bronze cupola, surrounded by a cast iron balustrade, all topped with a lightning rod and a weather vane.

The structure was already standing in 1861, but it was necessary to wait several years for the arrival of the optical apparatus and the lantern. It began operation on the last day of 1863.

The fuels initially used were vegetable oils, but later, it was changed to petroleum. With the arrival of electric power to the city in 1897, an electric mechanism was adapted that emitted red flashes reaching a distance of 8 miles; although years later it returned to its original white illumination. 

La Farola ceased to provide services due to inefficiency on 30 June 1954. That night a large farewell party was held that paid popular and sentimental tribute to its luminous presence at the entrance to the town. However, it remained there unlit for almost twenty more years, until the Port Authority decided to dismantle it. Years later it was recovered and was reinstalled in a place near its original location, next to the Marquesina del Puerto and the old landing stage, as a nostalgic reminder of a time when the port and the city were one and the same.

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