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Point Loma Light (old)
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Date Established: 1854
Date Present Tower Built: 1854
Height of Tower: 46 ft.
Height of Focal Plane: 462 ft.
Distance from You:
Open to Public?: Yes
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DescriptionThe Old Point Loma Lighthouse was one of the original eight lighthouses built along the west coast. The site of Old Point Loma is atop Point Loma which is a narrow peninsula that protects the San Diego harbor from the open Pacific Ocean. The lighthouse was built in 1854 but it was not until November, 1855 that the light of a 3rd order Fresnel lens shone out to see from Old Point Loma. The lighthouse initially displayed a fixed white light but the signature was changed in 1889 to an alternating red and white flash at 1 min intervals. Panes of glass rotated with a counterweight were used to achieve this change.
The height of Old Point Loma is such that it was frequently shrouded in coastal fog, rendering it useless when that was the case. This problem eventually led to the abandonment and deterioration of this historic lighthouse. In the 1930's the lighthouse was restored when it became a part of Point Cabrillo National Monument.