Old Point Loma Lighthouse

Last updated
Old Point Loma Lighthouse
Old Point Loma Light Station in 2019.jpg
Old Point Loma Light Station in 2019
Old Point Loma Lighthouse
Location Cabrillo National Monument
Tower
Height46 feet (14 m)
Light
First lit1855
Deactivated1891
Focal height462 feet (141 m)
LensThird-order Fresnel lens
Old Point Loma Lighthouse
LocationIncluded in Cabrillo National Monument, San Diego, California
Architectural style Cape Cod style
NRHP reference No. 74000350 [2]
CHISL No.51 [1]
SDHL No.17
Significant dates
Added to NRHPJune 27, 1974
Designated SDHLNovember 6, 1970 [3]

The original Point Loma Lighthouse is a historic lighthouse located on the Point Loma peninsula at the mouth of San Diego Bay in San Diego, California. It is situated within Cabrillo National Monument. It is no longer in operation as a lighthouse but is open to the public as a museum. It is sometimes erroneously called the "Old Spanish Lighthouse", [4] but in fact it was not built during San Diego's Spanish or Mexican eras; it was built in 1855 by the United States government after California's admission as a state. [5]

Contents

History

The lighthouse c. 1865, prior to the construction of the assistant keeper's quarters. USCGpointlomaOld.JPG
The lighthouse c. 1865, prior to the construction of the assistant keeper's quarters.

On September 28, 1850, just 19 days after admitting California to the Union, Congress appropriated $90,000 to construct lighthouses along the California coast. A second appropriation of $59,434 was made in 1854 to complete the job. Lighthouses were designated for Alcatraz Island, Point Conception, Battery Point, Farallon Island, Point Pinos and Point Loma.

A site was chosen in 1851 near the summit of Point Loma. The contract was given to the Washington, D.C. company Gibbon and Kelley. The local supervisor was William J. Timanus.

Construction was begun in April 1854, when a shipment of materials arrived from San Francisco. The lantern and lens had to be ordered from Paris and arrived in August 1855. The lighthouse was completed by October 1855 and was lighted for the first time at sunset November 15, 1855. It was designated light number 355, of the Twelfth United States Lighthouse District. [6]

When the lighthouse was constructed, an additional small structure was built next to it. This building was originally used as a storehouse for oil, wood, and other supplies. However, in 1875 part of it was converted into a two-room apartment for the assistant lighthouse keeper. It was built with rough lumber and the inside was lined with cloth and paper, since cracks would frequently develop in the walls. This thin lining was later replaced with tongue and groove boards. More repairs must have been made in 1880 for the structure was still being used as a living space for the assistant. [7] Today this building has been changed once again, and now serves as a museum. It holds the original lens of the New Point Loma lighthouse as well as maps and more information about Point Loma and its history. [8]

While in operation the lighthouse had the highest elevation of any lighthouse in the United States. [9] However, the location on top of a 400-foot cliff meant that fog and low clouds often obscured the light from the view of ships. On foggy nights the lighthouse keeper would sometimes discharge a shotgun to warn ships away. On March 23, 1891, the flame was permanently extinguished and the light was replaced by the New Point Loma lighthouse at a lower elevation.

After its abandonment the lighthouse deteriorated. In 1913 President Woodrow Wilson dedicated the lighthouse and a half-acre of land as Cabrillo National Monument, for the purpose of erecting a large statue of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo. [10] However, no such statue was actually built for several decades. In 1935 the lighthouse underwent a major renovation and a new road to the monument was constructed. [11] In 1949 a statue of Cabrillo, donated by the government of Portugal, was installed on land near the lighthouse. [12]

In 1984, the light was re-lit by the National Park Service for the first time in 93 years, in celebration of the site's 130th birthday. More than 3,000 people attended the celebration, including more than 100 descendants of former lighthouse keepers Robert and Maria Israel. [13]

Keepers

The names of the lighthouse keepers were:

Robert Israel

San Diego pioneer Robert Decatur Israel was lighthouse keeper for the longest period of time, 18 years. He was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania on March 23, 1826. His father was described as Pennsylvania Dutch and mother as Scotch-Irish. He wasn't Jewish, but because of his surname many people today mistakenly assume that he was. He had fought in the Mexican–American War, including the famous Battle of Chapultepec. He moved to San Diego in 1848 and worked as a blacksmith and saloon-keeper. [14] He and Maria Arcadia Alipas Machado, [15] the daughter of a long-established San Diego family, were married by a priest in 1852 at the Casa de Estudillo in Old Town. They had four children: Henry Clay Israel, Joseph Perry Israel; Robert Lincoln Israel, and a second Joseph Perry Israel, born after his older brother had died. [14]

Israel was appointed assistant lighthouse keeper in 1871 and promoted to lighthouse keeper in 1874. His wife Maria was the assistant keeper, like most wives of lighthouse keepers. Their family lived alone on the Point, making sure that the lighthouse was illuminated each night. The Israels lived and worked on Point Loma for 18 years, where they watched their children and grandchildren grow up. One of their grandsons was born at the lighthouse. [16]

Because of the fog, another lighthouse was built closer to the Pacific Ocean shore line, in the area adjoining Cabrillo National Monument now occupied by a U.S. Coast Guard Station. On March 23, 1891 the old light was extinguished and the new one lit. [17] Israel took over the new location but was dismissed as the lighthouse keeper in 1892. He died at age 81 on January 12, 1908. He is buried at the Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery. His grave 74 in section 75 is marked by a stone with a Christian cross. Some of his descendants now serve as volunteer re-enactors at the lighthouse. [13]

Life at the lighthouse

The National Park service maintains a garden on site, re-enacting how keepers grew food for their kitchen. Old Point Loma Lighthouse kitchen garden.png
The National Park service maintains a garden on site, re-enacting how keepers grew food for their kitchen.

The Old Point Loma Lighthouse was not just the housing for a light; it was also the home of the people who took care of the light. The keepers and their families lived in the lighthouse. Visitors can now view some of the rooms to see what their life was like. The lighthouse was a bustling family home. The Israel family, including their three surviving boys and a niece, all grew up there. [18] They gardened, kept horses, and raised chickens, pigs and goats. The children rowed across the bay to Old Town each day for school. People from town would sometimes drive by horse and buggy over a dirt road (now Catalina Boulevard) to picnic and visit the lighthouse and its keepers. [13]

After deactivation

After the lighthouse was deactivated it fell into disrepair. In 1913, it was proposed to tear down the dilapidated lighthouse and replace it with a monumental statue of Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo. The statue was never made, but to accommodate it, one-half acre around the lighthouse was set aside as Cabrillo National Monument by Presidential Proclamation. The monument was turned over to the National Park Service in 1933. By 1935 the metal lantern room had been rebuilt and the lighthouse restored to its original condition. [11] A concessionaire lived in the lighthouse, offering tours of the building and operating a tea room in the southern room on the main floor.

With the outbreak of war in 1941, the lighthouse was painted camouflage green and was used as a signal tower to direct ships into San Diego Harbor. After the war the lighthouse was returned to the National Park Service. During the 1980s it was restored and filled with period furnishings to resemble its appearance when the Israel family lived there. [18] In 2003–2004 the surrounding area was also restored to a more authentic look, including native plants, a vegetable garden, and a water catchment system. The lantern room currently houses the third-order lens from the Mile Rocks Lighthouse.

The lighthouse today

A model of the Old Lighthouse complex shows the lighthouse (right) and the assistant quarters (center) and a barn (left). The barn is no longer present. USA CA SanDiego PointLoma 001 2013.jpg
A model of the Old Lighthouse complex shows the lighthouse (right) and the assistant quarters (center) and a barn (left). The barn is no longer present.

Today the lighthouse is no longer in service but stands as a landmark and museum. Visitors may enter the lighthouse and view parts of the living quarters there. Visitors are sometimes greeted by volunteer historical re-enactors including "Captain Israel", a real historical figure who was lighthouse keeper from 1871 to 1892, [19] or "members of the crew" of Cabrillo's ship.

Although the tower of the lighthouse is normally closed off to the public, there are two days a year when it is open. These dates are August 25, which is the National Park Service's Birthday, and November 15, which is the Lighthouse's Anniversary. [20]

Historical Information from USCG web site

The long neck of land enclosing North San Diego Bay on the West side is known as Point Loma. The origin of the name comes from a legend of a flaxen haired little Russian girl, the sole survivor of a shipwreck, who was found wandering on shore. The local residents took her in and named her Loma and she grew up to become the cynosure of many ardent male eyes. A rejected suitor slew the girl and fled to the point where he met his rival on a narrow trail above the sea. A knife fight ensued and the men fell to their death on the rocks below. Legend has it that Point Loma was named after this girl. Actually the word 'Loma' in Portuguese means light.(NOTE: Mr. Lougher was mistaken about this. "Loma" is a Spanish word meaning "hill". The original name of the peninsula was "La Punta de la Loma de San Diego", meaning Hill Point of San Diego. This was later anglicized to Point Loma. [21] ) Old Point Loma Light—the first lighthouse to be erected in Southern California as distinguished from the present Point Loma Light—was constructed in 1851 and presently being preserved as a memorial. Not used for lighthouse purposes since 1891, the old tower, was set aside by President Wilson in 1913 as a national monument and is now cared for by the U.S. Park Service. The old tower was abandoned because it was situated 462 feet above the sea. At this unusual height, the light was often obscured by high fogs. A romantic error attributes Old Point Loma Light to Spanish origin. When it was built some old Spanish tiles were used in its cellar floorings. That is the full scope of its Latin ancestry. Talk has it that the Spanish had a beacon on Point Loma in 1701, but it has never been verified.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lighthouse</span> Structure designed to emit light to aid navigation

A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Point Pinos Lighthouse</span> 19th century lighthouse in Pacific Grove, California

Point Pinos Lighthouse was lit on February 1, 1855, to guide ships on the Pacific Coast of California. It is the oldest continuously operating lighthouse on the West Coast of the United States and even the lens is original. Alcatraz Island Lighthouse preceded Point Pinos by eight months, but was replaced in 1909 by the expanding military prison. The Point Pinos Lighthouse is still an active United States Coast Guard aid to navigation. On-site museum exhibits and other lighthouse related functions are operated by the city of Pacific Grove, Monterey County, California. The lighthouse is surrounded by the Pacific Grove Municipal Golf Links.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cabrillo National Monument</span> United States historic place

Cabrillo National Monument is a U.S. national monument at the southern tip of the Point Loma peninsula in San Diego, California. It commemorates the landing of Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo at San Diego Bay on September 28, 1542. This event marked the first time a European expedition had set foot on what later became the West Coast of the United States. The site was designated as California Historical Landmark #56 in 1932. The area was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on October 15, 1966.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Old Scituate Light</span> Historic lighthouse Scituate, Massachusetts, United States

Old Scituate Light also known simply as Scituate Light is a historic lighthouse located on Cedar Point in Scituate, Massachusetts. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1987 as Scituate Light.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Point Robinson Light</span> Lighthouse

The Point Robinson Light is an operational aid to navigation and historic lighthouse on Puget Sound, located at Point Robinson, the easternmost point of Maury Island, King County, in the U.S. state of Washington. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alcatraz Island Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse in the San Francisco Bay, California

Alcatraz Island Lighthouse is a lighthouse—the first one built on the U.S. West Coast—located on Alcatraz Island in California's San Francisco Bay. It is located at the southern end of the island near the entrance to the prison. The first light house on the island was completed in 1854, and served the bay during its time as a Citadel and military prison. It was replaced by a taller concrete tower built in 1909 to the south of the original one which was demolished after it was damaged due to earthquake in 1906. The automation of the lighthouse with a modern beacon took place in 1963, the year Alcatraz closed as the Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. It is the oldest light station on the island with a modern beacon and is part of the museum on the island. Although when viewed from afar it easily looks the tallest structure on Alcatraz, it is actually shorter than the Alcatraz Water Tower, but as it lies on higher ground it looks much taller.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anacapa Island Light</span> Lighthouse in California, United States

Anacapa Island Lighthouse is a lighthouse in California, United States, on the entrance to Santa Barbara Channel, California. Constructed in 1912, it was the last major light station built on the west coast. Anacapa and several other islands were collectively designated as Channel Islands National Monument in 1938, though the Coast Guard retained responsibility for the Anacapa lighthouse. Now fully automated and unmanned, the light house still operates, but the National Park Service (NPS) is responsible for Channel Islands National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Point Loma Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse in California, United States

The New Point Loma Lighthouse is a lighthouse at the southern tip of the Point Loma peninsula in San Diego, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Farallon Island Light</span> Lighthouse in California, United States

Farallon Island Light is a lighthouse on Southeast Farallon Island, California. One of the highest lights in California, it was constructed in 1855 to warn ships approaching San Francisco from the west away from the rocky islands. In later years it was shorn of its lantern, but it remains in use.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Point Light (San Francisco)</span> Lighthouse in California, United States

Fort Point Light is a decommissioned lighthouse built on the third tier of Fort Point, which is now directly beneath the south anchorage of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California. The lighthouse is at the south end of the narrowest part of Golden Gate strait. It was preceded by two other lighthouses in nearby locations. The present lighthouse was in operation from 1864 until 1934.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ballast Point Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse in California, United States

Ballast Point Lighthouse was a lighthouse in San Diego, California, situated on Ballast Point, a tiny peninsula extending into San Diego Bay from Point Loma. The lighthouse was torn down in 1960; the site is now on the grounds of Naval Base Point Loma. Ballast Point Lighthouse was the last lighthouse displaying a fixed light on the Pacific coast. An automated light is left in its place and operates on a piling in the water off of the original site.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Point Cabrillo Light</span> Lighthouse in northern California

Point Cabrillo Light is a lighthouse in northern California, United States, between Point Arena and Cape Mendocino, just south of the community of Caspar. It has been a federal aid to navigation since 1909. It is part of the California state park system as Point Cabrillo Light Station State Historic Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Table Bluff Light</span> Lighthouse in California, United States

Table Bluff Lighthouse is a lighthouse in California, United States, which was located on Table Bluff just south of Humboldt Bay. Built to guide vessels away from the notoriously dangerous and rough coastline and to let them know proximity of the nearby bay and entrance, the lighthouse was one of the first to be automated. The lighthouse tower portion is now located at the Woodley Island Marina within the City of Eureka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trinidad Head Light</span> Lighthouse in California, United States

Trinidad Head Lighthouse is a historic lighthouse on Trinidad Head on the outskirts of Trinidad, California. Built in 1871, it is 20 miles (32 km) north of Eureka, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Point Loma, San Diego</span> Community within San Diego in California

Point Loma is a seaside community in San Diego, California, United States. Geographically it is a hilly peninsula that is bordered on the west and south by the Pacific Ocean, the east by San Diego Bay and Old Town, and the north by the San Diego River. Together with the Silver Strand/Coronado peninsula, the Point Loma peninsula defines San Diego Bay and separates it from the Pacific Ocean. The term "Point Loma" is used to describe both the neighborhood and the peninsula.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chicago Harbor Light</span> Lighthouse

The Chicago Harbor Lighthouse is an automated active lighthouse, and stands at the south end of the northern breakwater protecting the Chicago Harbor, to the east of Navy Pier and the mouth of the Chicago River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Point Sur Lighthouse</span> Lighthouse in California, United States

Point Sur Lighthouse is a lightstation at Point Sur 24.6 miles (39.6 km) south of Monterey, California at the peak of the 361-foot (110 m) rock at the head of the point. It was established in 1889 and is part of Point Sur State Historic Park. The light house is 40 feet (12 m) tall and 270 feet (82 m) above sea level. As of 2016, and for the foreseeable future the light is still in operation as an essential aid to navigation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Makapuʻu Point Light</span> Lighthouse

The Makapuʻu Point Light on the island of Oʻahu has the largest lens of any lighthouse in the United States. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pigeon Point Lighthouse</span> Historic lighthouse in California, United States

Pigeon Point Light Station or Pigeon Point Lighthouse is a lighthouse built in 1871 to guide ships on the Pacific coast of California. It is the tallest lighthouse on the West Coast of the United States. It is still an active Coast Guard aid to navigation. Pigeon Point Light Station is located on the coastal highway, 5 miles (8 km) south of Pescadero, California, between Santa Cruz and San Francisco. The 115-foot (35 m), white masonry tower, resembles the typical New England structure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Point Light</span> Lighthouse

The North Point Lighthouse Museum is a lighthouse built in 1888 in Lake Park on the East Side of Milwaukee in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States to mark the entrance to the Milwaukee River. The lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1984. It was also added to the Library of Congress Historic American Buildings Survey as survey HABS WI-358.

References

  1. 1 2 "Old Point Loma Lighthouse". Office of Historic Preservation, California State Parks. Retrieved 2012-10-13.
  2. ↑ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places . National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  3. ↑ "Historical Landmarks Designated by the San Diego Historical Resources Board" (PDF). City of San Diego.
  4. ↑ "San Diego Historical Society".
  5. ↑ "The abandoned lighthouse". The Old Point Loma Lighthouse. Cabrillo National Monument. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
  6. ↑ McDermott, Ashley Thomas (July 1967). "The Old Point Loma Light". Journal of San Diego History. 13 (3).
  7. ↑ http://www.nps.gov/history/history/online_books/cabr/lighthouse/sec3.htm [ dead link ]
  8. ↑ "Point Loma (Old) Lighthouse". LighthouseFriends.
  9. 1 2 "Point Loma (Old), CA". Lighthousefriends.com. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  10. ↑ Thomas Alan Sullivan. "Proclamations and Orders Relating to the National Park Service: Up to January 1, 1945" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on May 6, 2009. Retrieved 2009-05-13. Pages 130–132.
  11. 1 2 Rowe, Peter (October 13, 2013). "Cabrillo National Monument at 100". San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on 9 May 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  12. ↑ Crawford, Richard (August 3, 2008). "Cabrillo statue's journey to San Diego marked by legal twists". San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2013.
  13. 1 2 3 "Life at the Lighthouse – Family Memories". Cabrillo National Monument. National Park Service. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  14. 1 2 "Capt. Robert D. Israel (1826–1907)". San Diego History Center. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  15. ↑ Doyle, William. "Bringing History Alive". Cabrillo National Monument. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  16. ↑ Meares, Hadley (May 21, 2015). "A Fixed White Light: The Old Point Loma Lighthouse of San Diego Bay". KCET. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  17. ↑ "The old Point Loma lighthouse – illuminating the past". Cabrillo National Monument. National Park Service. Archived from the original on 11 October 2006. Retrieved 29 March 2013.
  18. 1 2 Davidson, Winifred. "No. 355". San Diego History Center. Retrieved 25 June 2020.
  19. ↑ "San Diego Historical Society".
  20. ↑ Diego, Mailing Address: 1800 Cabrillo Memorial Drive San; Us, CA 92106 Phone:523-4285 Contact. "Frequently Asked Questions – Cabrillo National Monument (U.S. National Park Service)". www.nps.gov.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  21. ↑ Fetzer, Leland (May 24, 2005). San Diego County Place Names, A to Z. Sunbelt Publications, Inc. ISBN   9780932653734 – via Google Books.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.