On December 17, 2025, the Cape Florida Lighthouse celebrated its bicentennial in style. Miami-Dade County’s oldest standing structure was first lit two hundred years earlier to the day, beginning its vital role as a guide for sailors navigating the treacherous Florida Reef. In those two centuries, the lighthouse endured hurricanes, war, and blazing fire, yet it remains one of South Florida’s most resilient and iconic landmarks.
This year’s celebration at Bill Baggs Cape Florida State Park, organized by the Friends of Cape Florida, transformed the Lighthouse and Keeper’s Cottage into a living tribute to the area’s layered past. Visitors were greeted by an immersive theater experience, live music, and even an appearance by Bill Baggs himself (or, at least, a very convincing lookalike), and notable guests included descendants of the original lighthouse keeper, John duBose.
The night was also a magical evening in which technology brought history to life on the great canvas of the lighthouse itself. Along with larger-than-life representations of Bill Baggs and dramatic reenactments of key moments in Cape Florida history, visitors were able to see the lighthouse and lighthouse grounds like never before.
Using cutting-edge 3D scanning technology, RealitySync by Preference Consulting captured the Cape Florida Lighthouse and Keeper’s Cottage in full detail, recording every angle, contour, and hidden space for future generations. The resulting models offered guests unprecedented views that were then projected onto the lighthouse: a point-cloud view of the lighthouse interior that assembled itself from the ground-up, the spiral staircase illuminated from within, and views of other landmarks across South Florida.
Preference Consulting was honored to be invited to contribute to this historic event by Christina Bracken, president of Friends of Cape Florida. By blending innovation with preservation, the team helped bring 200 years of local history to life in a way never before seen.
For Preference Consulting, the bicentennial project reflects a growing mission to document, safeguard, and celebrate the sites that define South Florida. The Cape Florida Lighthouse, a longstanding beacon for South Florida, now has a permanent visual record, ensuring that in the event of hurricane damage or other forms of deterioration, it can be faithfully recreated with centimeter precision. Through digital preservation, structures like the Cape Florida Lighthouse and Keeper’s Cottage are protected forever, ensuring that their stories can be told for years to come.