“I’ve been sailing for 23 years commercially … but your light got me home last night. I’ve never had to navigate off of a lighthouse, but I did last night. … Thank you for having that light on. … Don’t ever turn that light off.” —Anonymous mariner who called in to Point Arena Lighthouse, March 2017.
In the modern age of GPS and satellite navigation, it is understandable to question the usefulness of lighthouses. While many may see them merely as antiquated relics or landmarks for historical preservation, there are people who have continued to rely on their light. When more advanced technology fails us, a simple beam of light can illuminate the darkness and guide the way. Lighthouses have been illuminating the rocky coastlines of the United States since before we became a nation in the early 1700s. The California gold rush led to increased population and demand for imports and exports. Shipwrecks naturally followed, and Congress appropriated funds for lighthouses on the west coast.
The first known lighthouse existed in Egypt around 300 B.C. Considered one of the “seven wonders of the ancient world,” the 450-foot-high Pharos of Alexandria lighthouse was destroyed in the 1300s. To put this in perspective, the massive structure was slightly taller than any lighthouse that exists anywhere in the world today. The oldest lighthouse in America is Sandy Hook Lighthouse, which is still operational in New Jersey. By 1852, the U.S. Lighthouse Establishment had built over 300 lighthouses around the country. Pigeon Point Light Station and Point Arena Lighthouse are tied for the tallest of the west coast, both measuring in at 115 feet tall.
Becoming Pigeon Point
In 1853, a 175-foot-long clipper ship called the Carrier Pigeon wrecked on the rocks off the coast of Pescadero, California. The ship’s hull was broken wide open on the jagged rocks of the coast. The crew made it safely to shore, but the massive ship was destroyed and reduced to only about 3 percent of its initial value. The site of the wreck was subsequently chosen for the construction of a lighthouse, which was named Pigeon Point in honor of the fallen clipper ship. Congress appropriated $90,000 to build several lighthouses on the northern California coast in 1868, of which Pigeon Point and Point Arena were the tallest twins.Heavy fog on the northern coast of California makes the rocky shoreline all the more treacherous. Even with lighthouses and fog horns, the unforgiving coastline was still the site of numerous shipwrecks throughout the 19th and 20th centuries. It was a risk that was necessitated by the large-scale lumber and whaling operations that were happening in the area at the time. Pigeon Point Light Station State Historic Park now protects a 4.5-acre area that included Whaler’s Cove. Whales were killed to render and sell whale oil, some of which was originally used to power lighthouse lamps. By the late 1860s, California lighthouses had been converted to lard oil due to a tragic decline in the sperm whale population.
Point Arena Lighthouse
North of San Francisco, the Point Arena lighthouse preceded Pigeon Point by two years. An earthquake in April 1906 devastated the original lighthouse and keeper’s residence to the extent that they were condemned and torn down. A new lighthouse was completed by October 1908 with steel reinforcement rods encased in concrete. It was the first lighthouse to be constructed in this manner in order to protect it from future earthquakes—a necessary precaution so close to the San Andreas fault line.
Pigeon Point and Point Arena were both of a newer generation of lighthouses that received first-order Fresnel lenses. Augustin Fresnel was a French physicist who designed a system of prisms to “bend, fold and focus the light out to sea.” The result of this technological breakthrough was a light that was “70,000-plus candlepower,” which could be seen for 21.5 nautical miles. The 1908 Fresnel lens at Point Arena weighs 4,700 pounds, is made up of 258 glass prisms, and was appraised at $3.5 million. Carefully dismantled and lowered from its tower over a decade ago, the lens is displayed in the museum to see up close at ground level. Down the road, the lighthouse now employs an 8-tier VLB-44 LED array to shine its beacon out to sea.
Surrounding the magnificent Fresnel lens in the Point Arena Light Station Museum are photographs and documents that preserve its history. Several photographs document the shipwrecks that took place there in the early-to-mid 20th century. Looking at the rock formations that jut out of the Pacific at Point Arena, it is easy to understand why. Point Arena lighthouse used to differ from Pigeon Point, pre-pandemic, when visitors had the opportunity to climb the interior spiral staircase to gain a view overlooking the coastline. The tower was repaired and repainted from 2008 to 2010 and is now in great shape for visitors. A climb to the top is not available as of this writing, but virtual tours on their website realistically recreate impressive 360-degree views of the area’s stunning surroundings.
