The Point Reyes Lighthouse, also known as Point Reyes Light or the Point Reyes Light Station, is a

lighthouse 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. Lighthouses m ...

in the

Gulf of the Farallones Gulf of the Farallones is a gulf of the Pacific Ocean off the northern California coast. It extends westward from the opening of the San Francisco Bay and Drakes Bay to the Farallon Islands. Most of the gulf lies in Gulf of the Farallones Nati ...

Point Reyes Point Reyes (, meaning "Point of the Kings") is a prominent cape and popular Northern California tourist destination on the Pacific coast. Located in Marin County, it is approximately west-northwest of San Francisco. The term is often applie ...

Point Reyes National Seashore Point Reyes National Seashore is a park preserve located on the Point Reyes Peninsula in Marin County, California. As a national seashore, it is maintained by the US National Park Service as an important nature preserve. Some existing agricult ...

, located in

Marin County, California Marin County is a county located in the northwestern part of the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California. As of the 2020 census, the population was 262,231. Its county seat and largest city is San Rafael. Marin County is acros ...

, United States. The park's adjacent Lighthouse Visitor Center features exhibits about the lighthouse and the park's marine life and natural history. Visitors can climb about 300 steps down to the lighthouse itself, weather permitting. The main chamber of the lighthouse, known as the Lens Room, features the

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 ...

and clockwork mechanism, and is open to the public on a limited basis.

History

A lighthouse was assigned to Point Reyes in 1855, but construction was delayed for fifteen years because of a dispute between the

United States Lighthouse Board The United States Lighthouse Board was the second agency of the U.S. federal government, under the Department of Treasury, responsible for the construction and maintenance of all lighthouses and navigation aids in the United States, between 18 ...

and the landowners over a fair price for the land. The lighthouse is a sixteen sided, tower, and a twin of Cape Mendocino Light. The first-order Fresnel lens was first lit on December 1, 1870. Electricity came to the lighthouse in 1938, and concrete steps were built into the cliff in 1939. The station was automated in 1975. The following historical information from March 1962 is maintained on the

USCG 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 ...

web site:

Point Reyes Light Station was established in 1870 at Point Reyes, Calif., from the nearest town of Inverness. It is a family station with a complement of four men who maintain a first order light, fog signal and radio beacon. The light tower itself is a sixteen-sided structure of forged iron plate (the original tower) bolted to solid rock. The top of the lantern is 37 feet (11 m) above the ground and focal plane of the light is above sea level. To reach the light, men assigned must descend 308 steps on the headland from the plateau above the station where the family quarters are situated. The quarters are new, two-story, four-family units (four-plex) built in 1960. The four-plex contains two 2-bedroom and two 3-bedroom units. Buildings maintained on the property, in addition to the family quarters, are the fog signal building, engine room, pump house, paint locker, double garage and a four-car carport with adjoining office and workshop. Point Reyes is, by official records, the windiest and foggiest on the Pacific Coast. The station is frequently blanketed by week-long periods of fog and few years pass that do not see violent gales of strike the area. Point Reyes Light Station is one of the District's outstanding tourist attractions. On fair summer weekends we often have several hundred visitors logged aboard. Escorting visitors has become a major portion of the duties of men assigned. Dependent children on the station travel three miles (five kilometers) by station vehicle to school. Commissary and post exchange privileges are available at Hamilton Air Force Base (the nearest armed forces installation), or in the San Francisco area.

It was 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 ...

in 1991.

Popular culture

The lighthouse was used as a location for the 1980

John Carpenter John Howard Carpenter (born January 16, 1948) is an American filmmaker, actor, and composer. Although he worked in various film genres, he is most commonly associated with horror, action, and science fiction films of the 1970s and 1980s. He ...

film ''

The Fog ''The Fog'' is a 1980 American supernatural horror film directed by John Carpenter, who also co-wrote the screenplay and created the music for the film. It stars Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Atkins, Janet Leigh and Hal Holbrook. It ...

''. It is also the subject of a poem by

Weldon Kees Harry Weldon Kees (February 24, 1914 – disappeared July 18, 1955) was an American poet, painter, literary critic, novelist, playwright, jazz pianist, short story writer, and filmmaker. Despite his brief career, Kees is considered an importa ...

, "The Exposed Reef." Kees, together with filmmaker and photographer

William Heick William Heick (October 6, 1916 – September 13, 2012) was a San Francisco-based photographer and filmmaker. He is best known for his ethnographic photographs and documentary films of North American Indian cultures.Heick served as producer-directo ...

, later made a documentary film about the lighthouse and its environs in 1954-55.James Reidel, ''Vanished Act: The Life and Work of Weldon Kees'' (Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press).

Gallery

References

External links

Visiting information for Point Reyes Lighthouse and Lighthouse Visitor Center
National Park Service
Lighthouse FriendsVideo of Point Reyes Light Station
archive.org {{authority control Lighthouses completed in 1870 Lighthouses in the San Francisco Bay Area Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in California West Marin Transportation buildings and structures in Marin County, California History of Marin County, California Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in California National Register of Historic Places in Marin County, California Point Reyes National Seashore Museums in Marin County, California Lighthouse museums in California

History

Popular culture

Gallery

See also

References

External links