Lighthouse Series - Lighthouses of the West Coast

Lighthouse keepers have it easy
All year long their homes are breezy;
Noises don’t disturb their labors,
For they haven’t any neighbors.

They don’t need big wastebaskets
For old papers, orange peels, or gaskets;
Just one careless motion
And their trash drops in the ocean.

They don’t need nine holes or twenty,
They get exercise aplenty;
One trip up the spiral stairway
Equals three around the fairway.

Window shades are never needed,
They can dress or strip unheeded;
Wakeful brats don’t have conniptions,
Neighbors don’t give long descriptions.

When I’m old and don't need pity,
I shall leave the sullied city,
Climb a lighthouse, bar the door,
And trim my wicks forevermore.

··· Captain Stetson Turner

Yaquina Head Lighthouse on Northern California Coast

Lighthouses are a reminder of simpler times - of sailing ships and oil lamps and the men and women whom day after day faithfully tended the coastal lights that guided mariners.

In my last posting I told you about how we first got interested in lighthouses. We visited some wonderful lighthouses in Wisconsin on a trip to that area. Since then we have visited many more lighthouses, most of them here on the west coast where we live. In fact, we have a wonderful lighthouse right here in San Diego, the Point Loma Lighthouse, which is located within the Cabrillo National Monument grounds. It is a great place to spend the day. It is high up, with wonderful views of our city. I love to go up there and just spend the afternoon.



Old Point Loma Lighthouse

The lighthouse that everyone visits here in San Diego is actually referred to as the Old Point Loma Lighthouse, because it was actually only used for 36 years. They discovered the location concealed a serious flaw: fog and low clouds often obsured the beam. The New Point Loma Lighthouse is located at the bottom of the hill, which you can see from above when you visit the Old Point Loma Lighthouse. If you ask anyone in San Diego about the lighthouse, they will only tell you about the old one, which is now a tourist attraction, and one of the things everyone should see while visiting the area, if nothing else, for the views.

The Old Point Loma Lighthouse was built in 1855 and stands 422 feet above the sea level, watching over the entrance to San Diego Bay, a sentinel to a vanished past. The National Park Service has refurbished the interior to its historic 1880s appearance - a reminder of a bygone era. Ranger-led talks, displays, and brochures are available to explain the lighthouse’s interesting past.

There are 45 lighthouses in California, most along the coast, although there are 2 lighthouses at Lake Tahoe, which is inland California. The two lighthousse there are : Rubicon Point and Sugar Pine Point Lighthouses.

I have not even begun to visit all of the lighthouses in California. We have traveled the coast of California, and I have seen some of the lighthouses in passing.  For this posting I am only going to talk about the lighthouses that we have actually visited.

Point Pinos Lighthouse

About 10 years ago I decided it would be fun to take our 4 day Thanksgiving weekend and do a vacation instead of staying home and cooking dinner. We headed north and spent 2 days in the Monterey area, then headed into San Francisco for the other 2 days. While in Monterey we took the famous 17 mile drive and stopped to see the Point Pinos Lighthouse in Pacific Grove.

This lighthouse was constructed in 1854 and was the third lighthouse built in California. It has the distinction of being the oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the west coast.

In 1915, the light was electrified, and in 1926 a fog signal was installed, much to the chagrin of local residents. The Coast Guard assumed control of the station in 1939. In 1975, the light was automated, and licensed to the Pacific Grove Historical Society. The fog signal and radio beacon were deactivated in 1993. The lighthouse has been restored and refurbished. The lighthouse remains very much as it did in 1854. The original third-order Fresnel lens still shines from the station. In August 2006, the Coast Guard officially transferred the lighthouse to the city of Pacific Grove, along with 70 acres of surrounding property. The Coast Guard retained responsibility for maintenance of the light, as well as the two housing units adjacent to the lighthouse.

One of our days in San Francisco was spent at Alcatraz Island. Alcatraz is most famous because of the prison, which has a famous past. But what you may not realize is that it also has a lighthouse on it. The tour mainly highlights the prison and the famous prisoners that were housed there, but we did get a close up look at the lighthouse also, although we were not able to go inside of it.



Alcatraz Island Lighthouse

Alcatraz is best known as "the Rock" - a prison where the worst of the worst were incarcerated. It is also famous for having the first California Lighthouse which was built in 1852. The original structure was a California cottage - a two-story structure with a tower in the center. The fifty-foot lighthouse was painted white with black trim and a back lantern room. A fog bell was added in 1856, when it was clear that San Francisco's now well-known fog often rendered the light ineffective. The original bell had to be rung by hand - quite a task considering the density of fog in the area. Later fog bells had a clockwork mechanism which would automatically ring the bell at prescribed intervals. As the city of San Francisco grew, a new flashing fourth-order lens was installed, to aid mariners in distinguishing it from city lights.

On April 18, 1906, the San Francisco earthquake rattled the lighthouse. The lighthouse tower was cracked, and one of the chimneys tumbled down. Work on a new lighthouse began in 1909. The new tower was eighty-four feet tall. Electricity powered the light and the fog sirens at the north and south ends of the island. The new keeper's house was adjacent to the quarters of the warden and the prison doctor. Because the keepers were on prison grounds it was sometimes a dangerouse assignment.

Due to the high cost of maintaining a prison on an island, the government closed the prison in 1963. In November 1963, the lighthouse was automated. Today, a 200,000 candlepower optic shines from the 1909 tower. The island is a popular tourist attraction. The fourth-order Fresnel lens is on display in the island museum. Much of the island has been reclaimed by nature. Part of "Pelican Island" has been closed off as a nesting area for seabirds. In 2004, the lighthouse celebrated its 150th anniversary. Visitors were given the rare opportunity to climb to the top, which is normally not open to the public.



Point Reyes Lighthouse

Point Reyes Lighthouse is located about 30 miles north of San Francisco and is a popular stop for visitors to the Point Reyes National Seashore. The lighthouse was built in 1870. It was a difficult task as all the building materials had to be hauled up the cliff from below. Point Reyes is often shrouded in a heavy fog. In 1918, for example, the fog signal at Point Reyes was active for 2139 hours - about 6 hours a day

The lighthouse was handed over to the Coast Guard in 1939. In 1975, the station was automated. A small building was built just below the light tower for an automated light, foghorn, and radio beacon. The original tower and lens were left intact. In 1977, the site was handed over to the National Parks Service.

Crescent City Lighthouse - AKA Battery Point Lighthouse

Crescent City, California is just a few miles south of the Oregon border. The Crescent City Lighthouse was built in 1856. It has survived several brushes with disaster. In 1879, a wave crashed through the kitchen, tipped over the stove, and ignited a fire. Fortunately, a second wave doused the flames before more damage could be done. In 1964, an earthquake in Alaska drove five tidal waves crashing into Crescent City. Eleven lives were lost and 29 blocks of the city destroyed, but miraculously the lighthouse was spared.

In 1953, the light was automated, and the Fresnel lens replaced by a modern optic. In 1965, the light was closed and replaced with a breakwater light. The lighthouse became the property of the Del Norte Historical Society. In 1982, the society re-established the light as a private aid to navigation, and renamed the station Battery Point Lighthouse. Today the station is manned by resident curators, who serve not only to maintain the station, but also to welcome visitors to the station.

Yaquina Head Lighthouse
on the Oregon Coast

We have also seen several of the lighthouses along the Oregon coast, as we have traveled that route many times on our way to visit family in Washington. In fact on this last trip down the coast only a few months ago, we stopped at Yaquina Head Lighthouse. The 93 foot tower is Oregon's tallest lighthouse. It is located on a narrow point of land jutting into the Pacific Ocean just north of Newport. Winds and rains have buffeted this lighthouse since its beginning in 1872.

Today the fully automated Fresnel lens runs on commercial power and flashes its unique patter 24 hours a day. The Interpretive Center at Yaquina Head offers a wealth of information on the history and preservation of the lighthouse. Open from 9 am to 5 pm (summer beginning Memorial Day weekend) and 10 am to 4 pm (winter, beginning November 1).

Coquille River Lighthouse

Another Oregon lighthouse we have visited in the Coquille River Lighthouse which is near the town of Bandon.

The Coquille River Lighthouse was first lit on February 29, 1896. The station consisted of a 40-foot tower and octagonal fog signal room. The tower housed a fourth-order Fresnel lens. The oil house stood on an adjacent platform. The lighthouse was built on an island and connected to the mainland by a wooden walkway. The keeper's residence was a duplex on the mainland.

In September 1936, a forest fire swept through the town of Bandon. Of the 500 buildings in town, only 16 survived. The town went bankrupt. The resulting decline in shipping led to the station's closure in 1939. The lighthouse was replaced by an automated light on the south jetty.

The abandoned lighthouse deteriorated due to neglect and vandalism. When Bullards State Beach Park was created, park personnel evaluated the site with the intention of restoring the lighthouse as a park attraction. A major restoration of the lighthouse took place from 1976-1979. A new solar powered light was installed in 1991. The revival of the lighthouse paralleled the revival of Bandon, which is now a seaside resort town.

My husband grew up on the Washington coast in the town of Ilwaco, which is at the mouth of the Columbia River. There are 2 lighthouses that were built to guide ships safely into the Columbia River.

Cape Disappointment Lighthouse, Washington

Cape Disappointment Lighthouse marks the north side of the mouth of the Columbia. It was first suggested that a lighthouse be built at Cape Disappointment in 1848 in what was then Oregon Territory. $53,000 was appropriated for a lighthouse in 1852. The bark Oriole, which had delivered materials for construction of four California lighthouses, arrived at the Columbia River in September 1853, but ran aground. The crew was rescued, but the ship and its cargo were lost. Work began despite the mishap, but a second ship did not arrive for almost two years. After the lighthouse was designed, a first-order Fresnel lens was ordered. When the tower was completed, it was found to be too small to house the lens. Rebuilding the tower took an additional two years. The first lighthouse in the Pacific Northwest was finally lit in 1856.

The lighthouse did have a shortcoming. It was discovered that the light was not visible to ships approaching from the north. This problem was remedied by building the North Head Lighthouse just two miles from Cape Disappointment. The first-order lens was moved to the North Head Lighthouse and a fourth-order lens installed at Cape Disappointment.


The lighthouse was electrified in 1937. In 1956, the Coast Guard intended to close the station, but retained the light when the Columbia River bar pilots protested. The light was automated in 1973, and is monitored from Astoria. The lighthouse is still an active aid to navigation. An observation deck has been built for the Coast Guard to monitor traffic and bar conditions. The grounds are open to the public via Cape Disappointment State Park.

 

 

North Head Lighthouse was built to remedy the problem with Cape Disappointment's visibility to the north. This lighthouse faces the ocean directly and is clearly visible to ships traveling from the north. The 65-foot tower stands on a 130-foot cliff. North Head is one of the windiest places in the country. The lantern room windows were equipped with handrails for keepers cleaning the glass. Winds of 126 miles per hour were recorded on January 29, 1921, before the instrument blew away. In 1932, a wild duck was blown into the lantern, breaking through the glass and chipping the lens. The light was automated in 1961.

North Head Lighthouse, Washington

The tower is white, but was painted in camouflage colors during World War II, after a Japanese submarine fired 17 shells at nearby Fort Stevens. The shells caused no injuries, and the only damage was to a backstop on a baseball diamond.

Today the lighthouse is part of Cape Disappointment State Park. The first-order lens is on display at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center in the park. The residences still stand, and visitors can stay in the residences overnight. The light itself is still active..

Coastal Area near Cape Disappointment and North Head

I hope that the lighthouses have been of interest to some. They are an intersting part of our past, and even though they are not as vital now, because of all of our modern equipment, many are still in use, and are still saving lives. The early lighthouse keepers faced many challenges and sometimes lived in quite isolated areas. They had to deal with lonliness, and with danger due to terrible storms. I think they were courageous people, and I doubt I would have been able to handle the things they went through.

We have also visited some lighthouses on the east coast and even some in foreign countries. Recently in Scotland we took a boat out to a lighthouse that is 10 miles off the coast. We also visited a lighthouse in Spain. If you are traveling anywhere and you have an interest in something, you can quite often tie your travels to that interest. There are even tours set up for people with special interests, like ours with lighthouses. For instance, my daughter and son-in-law are interested in literature, and there are many tours that would interest them that would take them to interesting places and also be based on the types of literature that interest them. If you are into sports, there are certainly many tours that would work with your interest in whatever sport you desire. And there are lots of culinary tours, for those with an interest in cooking or eating, or for that matter wine or beer tasting. So whatever your interest, find the time to go out and explore it.