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Point Reyes Light (lighthouse)
Encyclopedia
The Point Reyes Lighthouse, also known as Point Reyes Light or the Point Reyes Light Station, is a lighthouse
in the Gulf of the Farallones
on Point Reyes
in Marin County, California
, U.S.A.
and the landowners over a fair price for the land. The lighthouse is a sixteen sided, 37 feet (11.3 m) 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 web site:
The lighthouse was used as a location for the 1980 John Carpenter film The Fog
.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
in 1991.
Lighthouse
A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lenses or, in older times, from a fire, and used as an aid to navigation for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways....
in the Gulf of the Farallones
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. There is nuclear waste abandoned at the bottom of the gulf, lost from a shipwreck...
on Point Reyes
Point Reyes
Point Reyes is a prominent cape on the Pacific coast of northern California. It is located in Marin County approximately WNW of San Francisco. The term is often applied to the Point Reyes Peninsula, the region bounded by Tomales Bay on the northeast and Bolinas Lagoon on the southeast...
in Marin County, California
Marin County, California
Marin County is a county located in the North San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. As of 2010, the population was 252,409. The county seat is San Rafael and the largest employer is the county government. Marin County is well...
, U.S.A.
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 BoardUnited States Lighthouse Board
The United States Lighthouse Board was the agency of the US Federal Government that was responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of all lighthouses in the United States...
and the landowners over a fair price for the land. The lighthouse is a sixteen sided, 37 feet (11.3 m) tower, and a twin of Cape Mendocino Light
Cape Mendocino Light
Cape Mendocino Lighthouse is a lighthouse in California,United States, off Shelter Cove near Point Delgado, California. The tower had the highest focal plane at in the U.S....
. 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 web site:
Point Reyes Light Station was established in 1870 at Point Reyes, Calif., 19 miles (31 km) from the nearest town of InvernessInverness, CaliforniaInverness is an unincorporated community and census-designated place located in western Marin County, California. Inverness is located on the southwest shore of Tomales Bay northwest of Point Reyes Station, at an elevation of 43 feet . In the 2010 census, the population was 1,304...
. 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 294 feet (90 m) 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 work shop.
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 75 to 100 mph (121 - 161 km/h) 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.
The lighthouse was used as a location for the 1980 John Carpenter film The Fog
The Fog
The Fog is a 1980 horror film directed by John Carpenter, who also co-wrote the screenplay and composed the music for the film. It stars Adrienne Barbeau, Jamie Lee Curtis, Tom Atkins and Janet Leigh...
.
It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
in 1991.
External links
- photo from inside the lighthouse
- A short video of Pt. Reyes Light Station, Public Domain, archive.org.