Photos Then and Now: Pigeon Point Lighthouse
Posted by: 
50sumtin
N 37° 10.919 W 122° 23.633
10S E 553801 N 4115232
Pigeon Point Lighthouse - 1890s and today
Waymark Code: WM2ZA
Location: California, United States
Date Posted: 10/22/2005
Views: 34
The Pigeon Point Lighthouse has a small building next to it with many historical photographs. One photograph that was taken in the 1890s is included in the gallery. Compare that picture to how it looks now in 2005.
The Lighthouse at Pigeon Point is perched on a cliff on the central California coast, 50 miles south of San Francisco. The 115-foot Pigeon Point Lighthouse, one of the tallest lighthouses in America, has been guiding mariners since 1872. Its five-wick lard oil lamp, and first-order Fresnel lens, comprised of 1,008 prisms, was first lit at sunset, November 15, 1872. The lens stands 16 feet tall, 6 feet in diameter, and weighs 8,000 pounds. It sits in a lantern room that had been constructed at the Lighthouse Service's general depot in New York before being shipped around the Horn. Although the original Fresnel lens is no longer in use, the lighthouse is still an active U.S. Coast Guard aid to navigation using a 24 inch Aero Beacon.
The lighthouse is currently closed to the public, but the grounds remain open. In December 2001, a section of the cornice on the exterior of the lighthouse fell off. The lighthouse will remain closed until the structure can be evaluated for safety. The lighthouse may still be viewed from the grounds.
Please post an original picture of you and/or your gps with the Pigeon Point Lighthouse.