{{Infobox Museum |name = The Columbus Lighthouse (Faro a Colón) |image = Santo Domingo.El Faro a Colón.20170402.jpg |image_size = 250 |caption = The Columbus Lighthouse |map_type = Dominican Republic |map_relief = 1 |map_caption = Location in Dominican Republic |coordinates = {{coord|18.47861|-69.86816|display=inline}} |established = {{Start date|1992|||df=y}} |dissolved = |location = Santo Domingo Este<br/>{{Flag|Dominican Republic}} |type = Mausoleum, Museum |architect = Teófilo Carbonell<br/>J. L. Gleave |visitors = |director = |curator = |public_transit = |website = }}

'''Columbus Lighthouse''' ({{langx|es|Faro a Colón|links=no}}, meaning "Columbus Lighthouse") is a mausoleum monument dedicated to Christopher Columbus, located in Santo Domingo Este, Dominican Republic.

Construction began in 1986, based on plans drawn in 1931 by Scottish architect J.L. Gleave. The monument was inaugurated in 1992, in time for the 500th anniversary of Columbus's first voyage. It was funded by the Latin American states<ref>[http://www.cristobal-colon.net/Colon/C05p10.htm "Où est donc enterré Christophe Colomb ?"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200928215913/http://www.cristobal-colon.net/Colon/C05p10.htm |date=2020-09-28 }} Cristobal-colon.net. Retrieved June 4, 2009</ref><ref>Le phare de Christophe Colomb [http://www.entre2voyages.com/republique-dominicaine/phare-de-colomb.html Entre2voyages.com] Retrieved June 4, 2009</ref> at a total cost of approximately US$70 million.<ref name=tal>{{Citation | last = Jacobs | first = Karrie | title = World's Strangest Buildings | newspaper = Travel + Leisure | date = April 2010 | url = http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/worlds-strangest-buildings/6 | access-date = 2010-04-25}}</ref>

The monument's lighthouse-style features include projecting beams of light that form a cross shape. These beams are so powerful that they can be seen from neighboring Puerto Rico.<ref name="tal"></ref>

==Overview== thumb|right The Columbus Lighthouse is a cross-shaped monument made of reinforced concrete with dimensions of {{convert|680|ft|m}} by {{convert|195|ft|m}}.<ref name="tal" /> The cross is meant to represent the Christianization of the Americas. There are 157 beams of light that emanate from the structure towards the sky, as well as a rotating beam, which is visible from space.{{Citation needed|date=January 2021}}

According to Dominican authorities, the lighthouse shelters remains of Christopher Columbus. However, Spanish authorities have proven through DNA tests that the Cathedral of Seville contains Columbus's remains. Researchers note that this evidence does not exclude the possibility that some bones in Santo Domingo also belong to the explorer. The Dominican authorities have not allowed the same DNA tests to be performed on the remains in the lighthouse, making it impossible to confirm the presence of Columbus's remains. <ref>{{Cite web|last=Sood|first=Suemedha|title=The mystery of Christopher Columbus's legacy|url=http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20121107-the-mystery-of-christopher-columbuss-legacy|access-date=2018-09-19|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Killgrove|first=Kristina|title=DNA Testing Of Skeleton May Prove Christopher Columbus Was Really Portuguese|language=en|work=Forbes|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/kristinakillgrove/2018/01/19/dna-testing-of-skeleton-may-prove-christopher-columbus-was-really-portuguese/#7f9f5075c829|access-date=2018-09-19}}</ref> The monument functions as both a mausoleum and a museum showcasing objects, including a boat from Cuba and Colombian<!---Colombian---> jewelry.

Once a year, on Columbus Day, the remains are displayed in their crypt behind a sheet of glass.{{sfn|Horwitz|2008|pp=89–90, 92}}

==History== thumb|Columbus Tomb at Columbus Lighthouse, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Dominican historian Antonio Delmonte y Tejada expressed the idea of erecting a monument in honor of Columbus in Santo Domingo in his 1852 book, ''History of Santo Domingo''.<ref name="IU Faro a Colon">{{cite web|title=Faro a Colon|url=http://www.indiana.edu/~r317doc/dr/faro/faro.html|publisher=Indiana.edu|access-date=27 April 2011}}</ref> In 1914, American Pulliam William Ellis began promoting a monumental beacon in the first city of the New World to the American press. The concept was accepted during the 1923 Fifth International Conference in Chile, which decreed that all governments and peoples of the Americas should cooperate to build the monument.

Scottish architect Joseph Lea Gleave won a competition that included 455 participants from 48 countries. The event was held in Brazil in 1931, with judges including architects Horacio Acosta y Lara (Uruguay), Eliel Saarinen (Finland), and Frank Lloyd Wright (USA).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.glj.com.do/home.php/biblioteca_virtual/arquitectura_dominicana |title=Grupo León Jimenes &#124; Biblioteca virtual &#124; Historia para la construcción de la arquitectura dominicana |access-date=2011-05-27 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110725145515/http://www.glj.com.do/home.php/biblioteca_virtual/arquitectura_dominicana |archive-date=2011-07-25 |url-status=dead }}</ref> However, by 1950, only eight countries had contributed, totaling less than $15,000. The Dominican government moved forward with the project, and the foundation was dug in 1948.<ref name="IU Faro a Colon"></ref> Growing political instability halted construction after 1948 until 1986. During the government of Joaquín Balaguer, construction resumed under the supervision of Dominican architect Teófilo Carbonell, culminating in its completion in 1992, in time for the celebration of the quincentennial discovery of the Americas.<ref>{{cite news|title=Columbus Lighthouse|newspaper=The New York Times |url=http://travel.nytimes.com/travel/guides/caribbean-and-bermuda/dominican-republic/santo-domingo/43071/columbus-lighthouse/attraction-detail.html|access-date=27 April 2011}}</ref>

Though conceived by Gleave as a mausoleum, the monument was adapted to house a permanent collection of exhibitions from countries of the Americas, as well as other European and Asian countries, as requested by former President Balaguer. The exhibitions house items of cultural heritage from each country. Tony Horwitz wrote in 2008 that the United States's exhibition included a few small photographs of Independence Day celebrations, along with many poster-sized reproductions of newspaper front pages reporting on the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.{{sfn|Horwitz|2008|p=83}} By 2026 only 9 old pictures of Native Americans were on display.

==See also== * List of monuments and memorials to Christopher Columbus

==References== {{reflist}}

===Sources=== * {{Cite book|last=Horwitz|first=Tony|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VrF9_VNnGIAC|title=A Voyage Long and Strange: Rediscovering the New World|publisher=Henry Holt and Co|year=2008|isbn=978-1-4299-3773-3|edition=illustrated|location=New York|author-link=Tony Horwitz}}

==External links== {{Portal|Dominican Republic}} {{Commonscat|Faro a Colón}} {{Commonscat|Tomb of Christopher Columbus (Dominican Republic)}} {{Santo Domingo}} *{{YouTube|id=8vC2E1DtJtc|title=Columbus Lighthouse video tour}} {{coord|18.47861|-69.86816|display=title}} {{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Columbus Lighthouse}} Category:Museums in the Dominican Republic Category:Buildings and structures completed in 1992 Category:Buildings and structures in Santo Domingo Province Category:Architecture in the Dominican Republic Category:Tourist attractions in Santo Domingo Province Category:Tourism in the Dominican Republic Category:Mausoleums in the Dominican Republic Category:Monuments and memorials to Christopher Columbus