Pigeon Point Light Station or Pigeon Point Lighthouse is a lighthouse built in 1871 to guide ships on the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

coast of

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. It is the tallest lighthouse (tied with

Point Arena Light Point Arena Light is a lighthouse in Mendocino County, California, United States, two miles (3 km) north of Point Arena, California. It is approximately north of San Francisco, in the Fort Point Group of lighthouses. The lighthouse featur ...

) on the West Coast of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. It is still an active

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

aid to navigation. Pigeon Point Light Station is located on the coastal highway ( State Route 1), south of

Pescadero, California Pescadero ( Spanish for "Fishmonger") is an unincorporated town and census-designated place (CDP) in San Mateo County, California, two miles (3 km) east of State Route 1 and Pescadero State Beach. The town is south of Half Moon Bay. The ZI ...

, between Santa Cruz and

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

. The , white masonry tower, resembles the typical New England structure. The lighthouse and the land around have been preserved as Pigeon Point Light Station State Historic Park, a California state park. The lighthouse is also listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

, and designated as a

California Historical Landmark A California Historical Landmark (CHL) is a building, structure, site, or place in California that has been determined to have statewide historical landmark significance. Criteria Historical significance is determined by meeting at least one of ...

. The lighthouse is currently undergoing major renovations funded by the California state legislature in 2021. Research published 2022 by the San Mateo County Office of Sustainability found that the lighthouse was vulnerable to erosion caused by

sea level rise Globally, sea levels are rising due to human-caused climate change. Between 1901 and 2018, the globally averaged sea level rose by , or 1–2 mm per year on average.IPCC, 2019Summary for Policymakers InIPCC Special Report on the Ocean and Cry ...

History

Pigeon Point Lighthouse is one of the most picturesque lighthouses on the Pacific coast. The tower stands on a rocky promontory and has long been a landmark for ships approaching San Francisco Bay from the south. This headland, and hence the lighthouse, took its name from the ship ''Carrier Pigeon'' that wrecked here in 1853. The lantern room of the tower is no longer equipped with the original first-order, 1000-watt

Fresnel lens A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens developed by the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) for use in lighthouses. It has been called "the invention that saved a million ships." The design allows the c ...

. No longer illuminated for demonstration purposes, the lens has 24 flash panels, is composed of 1008 hand-polished lenses and prisms and is capable of producing over 500,000 candlepower illumination. It was manufactured by the Henry-LePaute company in Paris, France, and was first lit at Pigeon Point at sunset on November 15, 1872. Originally the tower was equipped with a lamp that burned refined lard oil (pig fat). In 1888, that lamp was replaced with a mineral oil (

kerosene Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning "wax", and was regi ...

) lamp. To produce Pigeon Point's assigned characteristic of one white flash of light every ten seconds, the one ton lens rotated one time every four minutes. When observed from a distance, this resulted in the appearance of one white flash of light every ten seconds. The lens rotation was originally powered by a clockworks and weight. In 1926 the lighthouse was provided with electricity. Modern innovations were incorporated and the kerosene IOV lamp was replaced by a 1000 watt bulb, the clockworks by an electric motor and an electrically operated

fog signal A foghorn or fog signal is a device that uses sound to warn vehicles of navigational hazards such as rocky coastlines, or boats of the presence of other vessels, in foggy conditions. The term is most often used in relation to marine transport. W ...

was eventually installed. The lighthouse has been designated

number 930. In 1972, the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mu ...

mounted a

aerobeacon An aerobeacon is a light assembly used to create a fixed or flashing signal visible over long distances. It consists of a high intensity electric lamp mounted with a focusing device in a cylindrical housing, which usually is rotated on a vertical ...

on the front of the tower (now replaced by a smaller beacon) and officially retired the Fresnel lens from regular duty. The First order Fresnel lens is no longer lit to celebrate special occasions, such as the annual lighting of the lens, which usually occurred in mid-November (closest Saturday to November 15) the date of the original first lighting in 1872. The lens was removed from the top of the tower in November 2011, to now be displayed in the fog signal building, adjacent to the base of the lighthouse. The light outside the lens room, mounted on a small

verandah A veranda or verandah is a roofed, open-air gallery or porch, attached to the outside of a building. A veranda is often partly enclosed by a railing and frequently extends across the front and sides of the structure. Although the form ''vera ...

at the top of the tower, rotating with six beams, is still an active aid to navigation. The first order fresnel lens of the Pigeon Point Lighthouse originally came from the

Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Cape Hatteras Light is a lighthouse located on Hatteras Island in the Outer Banks in the town of Buxton, North Carolina and is part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. The lighthouse’s semi-unique pattern makes it easy to recognize and famou ...

, which has the same lens characteristic. Following the deactivation of the original tower in 1870, the lens, which had only been installed in 1863 was removed and put into storage. Shortly thereafter in 1871 it was shipped to the west coast to be installed in the new lighthouse.

Renovation

The tower has been closed to tours since December 2001 because of the collapse of brickwork supporting outside access metal walkways on the top of the structure. Cast iron was used rather than steel. Cast iron absorbs water rather than repelling it like steel, thus the walkways are severely rusted, as are the major binding ring bands at the base of the tower. The California State Park system has promised repairs, but it is estimated that even if funds were available, it would be seven to ten years before the repairs would be completed. In July, 2010, Rep. Anna G. Eshoo (D-Palo Alto) stated that of the $3.4 million she requested for her district through the ''Fiscal Year 2011 Interior and Environment Appropriations Act'', $250,000 will be allocated to restore the upper portion of the lighthouse. In 2021, an $18 million provision was made in the California state budget for the full restoration of the lighthouse. The work is scheduled to take 18 months to complete.

Contemporary uses

The restored lighthouse keepers' housing has, since the mid-1960s, also served as a

youth hostel A hostel is a form of low-cost, short-term shared sociable lodging where guests can rent a bed, usually a bunk bed in a dormitory, with shared use of a lounge and sometimes a kitchen. Rooms can be mixed or single-sex and have private or shared ...

for travelers. The hostel is operated by HI USA,Hiusa.org
/ref> a nonprofit organization devoted to helping the young gain a greater understanding of the world and its people through hosteling. The Pigeon Point Lighthouse is also a logo of the

E. W. Scripps Company The E. W. Scripps Company is an American broadcasting company founded in 1878 as a chain of daily newspapers by Edward Willis "E. W." Scripps and his sister, Ellen Browning Scripps. It was also formerly a media conglomerate. The company is he ...

Aerial View of Pigeon Point lighthouse and surrounding coastline

Image gallery

File:44b-PIGEON POINT.jpg, Pigeon Point, c. 1870s, prior to construction File:USCGpigeonpoint.JPG, U.S. Coast Guard archive photo File:Pigeon Point Lighthouse circa 1950.jpg, Taken circa 1950 when fully operational including the Fresnel lens and fog signal File:Pigeon Point Light house.jpg, Pigeon Point Lighthouse with light on File:Pigeon Point Lighthouse.jpg, On pacific coast in summer File:Pigeon Point Lighthouse and wildflowers.jpg, Pigeon Point Lighthouse with wildflowers (view from the South) File:PigeonPointLighthouse.jpg File:Pigeon Point Light Station.jpg File:PPLightouse.JPG File:Pigeon Point Light Station Fresnel Lens.jpg, Pigeon Point Light Station: Inside View of the Fresnel Lens File:Pigeon Point Light Station Stairs in the Tower.jpg, Pigeon Point Light Station Stairs in the Tower File:Pigeon point hostel.jpg, Pigeon Point Lighthouse Hostel File:Pigeon Point Lighthouse at Blue hour by Sutanu Mandal.jpg, Pigeon Point Lighthouse at blue hour

References

External links

Pigeon Point Light Station State Historic Park

Lighthouse Friends / Pigeon Point History

History and description of the Pigeon Point Lighthouse with pictures {{Authority control California State Historic Parks History of San Mateo County, California History of the San Francisco Bay Area Lighthouses completed in 1871 Lighthouses in the San Francisco Bay Area Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in California National Register of Historic Places in San Mateo County, California Parks in San Mateo County, California Protected areas established in 2000 Transportation buildings and structures in San Mateo County, California