Kilauea Light
Encyclopedia
Kīlauea Lighthouse is located on Kīlauea Point on the island of Kauai
, Hawaii
in the Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge
.
protruding from the northern shore of Kauai, was purchased from the Kīlauea Sugar Plantation Company in 1909 for one US dollar.
Before construction could begin, a method for delivering supplies to the point had to be developed. Due to the lack of good roads from the Nawiliwili harbor
, the decision was made to bring the materials in by sea.
The lighthouse tender Kukui would anchor offshore and then dispatch small boats with supplies to a cove near the point. Since there was no beach landing, the boats would anchor to cleats cemented into the lava rocks at the point. A boom derrick, constructed on a ledge above the water, would pluck the supplies from the boats and place them on a loading platform 110 feet (33.5 m) above the water.
Finally, after almost four years of planning, construction began in July 1912 and the light was dedicated on May 1, 1913. The tower was built in a Classical Revival architecture style out of reinforced concrete. The tower is a slightly tapering cylinder about 52 ft high.
The upper portion has a steel circular walkway with handrail.
The lens one of only seven second-order Fresnel lens
es remaining in a lighthouse in the US. Barbier, Bernard, and Turenne manufactured the lens in Paris, France. The 9000 pounds (4,082.3 kg) lens floated on mercury and compressed air. The lens was rotated by a system of pulleys powered by weights that needed to be reset by an operator every 3.5 hours.
An oil storage house was built 155 feet (47.2 m) southeast of the light, and a small engine house in a small cove below the point. About 1000 feet (304.8 m) south is a residential area with three small stone houses. Each house and the lighthouse itself has a water storage tank.
The point is accessed from Route 56
(called Kuhio Highway), north of the town of Kīlauea
.
On June 29, 1927, the United States Army Air Corps
pilots of the airplane Bird of Paradise, Lester J. Maitland
and Albert F. Hegenberger
, were attempting the first transpacific flight from California
to Hawaii. An hour before dawn, aware that they were slightly north of their planned course and with their directional radio receiver not functioning, they spotted the Kīlauea Lighthouse as planned to verify their position.
A radio beacon was added in 1930, and with the added generator the light was changed to be powered by electricity. Originally 250,000 candle power, the light reached 2,500,000 candle power in 1958.
The station was manned until 1974 when it was automated. In February 1976 the light was moved to a nearby smaller tower and the tower was sealed. It was one of the last lights converted to automation by the United States Coast Guard
in the Hawaiian Islands.
The radio beacon was replaced in 1956, and then in the 1980s converted to a visitor center.
On October 18, 1979 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Hawaii as site 79000759. The historic district included 31 acres (12.5 ha).
In 1985 the Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge
, starting with the original Coast Guard Station, and then expanding to preserve the surrounding habitat.
A new visitor center was built in 1988. The buildings were damaged by Hurricane Iniki
in September 1992, but repaired.
The visitors center is operated by the Kilauea Point Natural History Association. Starting in late 2008, the group raised funds for restoration of the lighhouse.
motion picture Lilo & Stitch
, and it plays a more important role in the sequel
, Stitch! The Movie
. In the film, the lighthouse serves as a rendezvous point where the protagonists are to trade Jumba Jookiba's first 625 experiments with the antagonist
Dr. Jacques von Hämsterviel for Jumba himself. The lighthouse in the franchise was said in the movie to have shut down years ago do to the financial troubles of keeping it running. Towards the end of the film, however, one of the experiments—an electrical one that Lilo nicknames "Sparky"— is given the lighthouse as a new home, and he uses his power to make the beacon shine again.
Kauai
Kauai or Kauai, known as Tauai in the ancient Kaua'i dialect, is geologically the oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands. With an area of , it is the fourth largest of the main islands in the Hawaiian archipelago, and the 21st largest island in the United States. Known also as the "Garden Isle",...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
in the Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge
Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge
Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge on the northwest coast of the island of Kauai in Hawaii.-History:Kīlauea Lighthouse was built in 1913. In 1976, the Coast Guard deactivated the lighthouse and replaced it with an automatic beacon...
.
History
Kīlauea Point, a narrow, lava peninsulaPeninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
protruding from the northern shore of Kauai, was purchased from the Kīlauea Sugar Plantation Company in 1909 for one US dollar.
Before construction could begin, a method for delivering supplies to the point had to be developed. Due to the lack of good roads from the Nawiliwili harbor
Nawiliwili Beach Park
Nawiliwili Beach Park is a beach park and port on the south-east coast of the island of Kauai in the Hawaiian Islands.It is located on Nāwiliwili Bay at , about south of Līhue. It is at the south end of Hawaii Route 51, known as Rice Street. Just to the west is Niumalu Beach Park....
, the decision was made to bring the materials in by sea.
The lighthouse tender Kukui would anchor offshore and then dispatch small boats with supplies to a cove near the point. Since there was no beach landing, the boats would anchor to cleats cemented into the lava rocks at the point. A boom derrick, constructed on a ledge above the water, would pluck the supplies from the boats and place them on a loading platform 110 feet (33.5 m) above the water.
Finally, after almost four years of planning, construction began in July 1912 and the light was dedicated on May 1, 1913. The tower was built in a Classical Revival architecture style out of reinforced concrete. The tower is a slightly tapering cylinder about 52 ft high.
The upper portion has a steel circular walkway with handrail.
The lens one of only seven second-order Fresnel lens
Fresnel lens
A Fresnel lens is a type of lens originally developed by French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel for lighthouses.The design allows the construction of lenses of large aperture and short focal length without the mass and volume of material that would be required by a lens of conventional design...
es remaining in a lighthouse in the US. Barbier, Bernard, and Turenne manufactured the lens in Paris, France. The 9000 pounds (4,082.3 kg) lens floated on mercury and compressed air. The lens was rotated by a system of pulleys powered by weights that needed to be reset by an operator every 3.5 hours.
An oil storage house was built 155 feet (47.2 m) southeast of the light, and a small engine house in a small cove below the point. About 1000 feet (304.8 m) south is a residential area with three small stone houses. Each house and the lighthouse itself has a water storage tank.
The point is accessed from Route 56
Hawaii Route 56
Route 56, also known as Kuhio Highway, is the main highway on the north and east shore of Kauaii island.-Route description :Route 56 runs , stretching from Hawaii Route 50 at the junction of Rice Street in Lihue, Hawaii to the junction of Hawaii Route 560 in Princeville on the island of Kauaii...
(called Kuhio Highway), north of the town of Kīlauea
Kilauea, Hawaii
Kīlauea, on the Island of Kauai, shares the name of the active volcano, Mt. Kilauea. The name literally translates to "spewing" or '"much spreading" in Hawaiian. Kilauea, the town, is a census-designated place in Kauai County, Hawaii, United States....
.
On June 29, 1927, the United States Army Air Corps
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps was a forerunner of the United States Air Force. Renamed from the Air Service on 2 July 1926, it was part of the United States Army and the predecessor of the United States Army Air Forces , established in 1941...
pilots of the airplane Bird of Paradise, Lester J. Maitland
Lester J. Maitland
Lester James Maitland was an aviation pioneer and career officer in the United States Army Air Forces and its predecessors. Maitland began his career as a Reserve pilot in the U.S. Army Air Service during World War I and rose to brigadier general in the Michigan Air National Guard following World...
and Albert F. Hegenberger
Albert Francis Hegenberger
Albert Francis Hegenberger was a Major General in the United States Air Force and a pioneering aviator who set a flight distance record in 1927.-Biography:He was born on September 30, 1895 in Boston, Massachusetts....
, were attempting the first transpacific flight from California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
to Hawaii. An hour before dawn, aware that they were slightly north of their planned course and with their directional radio receiver not functioning, they spotted the Kīlauea Lighthouse as planned to verify their position.
A radio beacon was added in 1930, and with the added generator the light was changed to be powered by electricity. Originally 250,000 candle power, the light reached 2,500,000 candle power in 1958.
The station was manned until 1974 when it was automated. In February 1976 the light was moved to a nearby smaller tower and the tower was sealed. It was one of the last lights converted to automation by the United States Coast Guard
United States Coast Guard
The United States Coast Guard is a branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven U.S. uniformed services. The Coast Guard is a maritime, military, multi-mission service unique among the military branches for having a maritime law enforcement mission and a federal regulatory agency...
in the Hawaiian Islands.
The radio beacon was replaced in 1956, and then in the 1980s converted to a visitor center.
On October 18, 1979 it was added to the National Register of Historic Places listings in Hawaii as site 79000759. The historic district included 31 acres (12.5 ha).
In 1985 the Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge
Kilauea Point National Wildlife Refuge
Kīlauea Point National Wildlife Refuge is a National Wildlife Refuge on the northwest coast of the island of Kauai in Hawaii.-History:Kīlauea Lighthouse was built in 1913. In 1976, the Coast Guard deactivated the lighthouse and replaced it with an automatic beacon...
, starting with the original Coast Guard Station, and then expanding to preserve the surrounding habitat.
A new visitor center was built in 1988. The buildings were damaged by Hurricane Iniki
Hurricane Iniki
Hurricane Iniki was the most powerful hurricane to strike the U.S. state of Hawaii in recorded history. Forming on September 5 during the strong El Niño of 1991–1994, Iniki was one of eleven Central Pacific tropical cyclones during the 1992 season. It attained tropical storm status on...
in September 1992, but repaired.
The visitors center is operated by the Kilauea Point Natural History Association. Starting in late 2008, the group raised funds for restoration of the lighhouse.
Popular culture
The Kīlauea Lighthouse can be seen briefly in Disney's animatedAnimation
Animation is the rapid display of a sequence of images of 2-D or 3-D artwork or model positions in order to create an illusion of movement. The effect is an optical illusion of motion due to the phenomenon of persistence of vision, and can be created and demonstrated in several ways...
motion picture Lilo & Stitch
Lilo & Stitch
This article is about the movie. For the television series, see Lilo & Stitch: The Series.Lilo & Stitch is a 2002 American animated feature produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released on June 21, 2002...
, and it plays a more important role in the sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
, Stitch! The Movie
Stitch! The Movie
Stitch! The Movie is a direct-to-video animated spinoff of Lilo & Stitch, released on August 26, 2003. It is often considered more of a backdoor pilot for the spinoff series Lilo & Stitch: The Series rather than a sequel to the original film. The story is an introduction to Dr. Jumba Jookiba's 625...
. In the film, the lighthouse serves as a rendezvous point where the protagonists are to trade Jumba Jookiba's first 625 experiments with the antagonist
Antagonist
An antagonist is a character, group of characters, or institution, that represents the opposition against which the protagonist must contend...
Dr. Jacques von Hämsterviel for Jumba himself. The lighthouse in the franchise was said in the movie to have shut down years ago do to the financial troubles of keeping it running. Towards the end of the film, however, one of the experiments—an electrical one that Lilo nicknames "Sparky"— is given the lighthouse as a new home, and he uses his power to make the beacon shine again.
External links
- Kilauea Light Station Restoration Project
- Kilauea Lighthouse at lighthousefriends.com
- Kilauea Lighthouse on Hawaiiweb