1992 California Trip: Point Arena

Photo by Cliff West

After exploring The Geysers Geothermal Power Development, our family continued our 1992 California trip by returning to the coast. This picture of a small vessel (probably a commercial fishing boat) was taken from the Point Arena Lighthouse.

Photo by Cliff West

Point Arena is a narrow peninsula jutting out about a half-mile into the Pacific Ocean. The town of Point Arena, California, is actually about 2 miles to the south of the lighthouse, in the direction of this picture. 

Photo by Cliff West

This view looking north from the Point Arena lighthouse shows the sweeping curve of the northern California coastline.

Photo by Cliff West

The original Point Arena lighthouse was erected in 1870, along with a large keeper residence. Lieutenant Colonel R.S. Williamson was the lighthouse engineer. The San Francisco earthquake of April 18, 1906, was so powerful that this lighthouse and keeper residence located 130 north of the city were severely damaged and had to be demolished.

Photo by Cliff West

The United States Lighthouse Service contracted with a San Francisco company that normally erected factory smokestacks to build a new lighthouse that could withstand any future earthquakes. The lighthouse was designed with steel reinforcing rods encased in concrete, and was the first lighthouse to be built this way. The 115-foot lighthouse began operation in 1908, nearly 18 months after the earthquake. The lighthouse was equipped with a 1st Order Fresnel lens made of 666 hand-ground prisms set in solid brass framework, with a diameter of over 6 feet and a total weight of over 6 tons, that gave the lighthouse a unique light signature of two flashes every six seconds. This lens was the last Mercury-floated lens in Twelfth United States Coast Guard District when it was replaced in June 1977 by a 400-pound automated aircraft-type beacon mounted on the tower balcony (which has since been replaced itself by a modern 40-pound rotating light incorporating Fresnel principles). The fog signal was replaced by a nearby bell buoy in 1978. In 1984, the nonprofit Point Arena Lighthouse Keepers took over the lighthouse and opened it to the public.