But the system has never been put into place. David Fisher, president of the Mayport Village Civic Association, said the proposal to move the lighthouse is going to be a hard sell. He said Mayport is already inundated with cars and boats on weekends and isn't built for crowds like those drawn to the St. Augustine lighthouse. He also questions how visitors will navigate the interior of the lighthouse, which has no handicap rail and a very narrow, steep stairwell. Many visitors don't even know the lighthouse exists because it's on the back side of town behind a Navy fence east of Broad Street.
People love to visit lighthouses.
Meserve also said the structure's foundation is underwater. The lighthouse was built on a swamp in 1828. The naval station, which came to town in the 1940s, built a 4,000-foot runway near the lighthouse with fill material from Ribault Bay. The movers would need to excavate the lighthouse to expose the foundation and underground section, which are surrounded by as much as 12 feet of fill. Enter words describing a concept or keywords.