Pigeon Point

Pigeon Point Light Station State Historic Park sits on a cliff along the California coast between San Francisco (50mi S) and Santa Cruz (27mi N). The 115-foot Pigeon Point Lighthouse is one of the tallest lighthouses in America and 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 on November 15, 1872. The lens stands 16 feet tall, 6 feet in diameter, and weighs 8,000 pounds. 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.



UnklStuart in Flickr shared some incredible shots of the original fresnel lens. In his shot above you see the current working light outside the window and the fresnel lens. Stuart was part of a team that cleaned the lens prior to it's annual lighting in November. While no longer in service, the fresnel lens is lit once a year on the anniversary of the first lighting in 1872!

The restored lighthouse keeper's housing operates as a Hostel. We've been a guest at Pigeon Point several times and it's always a wonderful experience to wake up to the sounds of the ocean. I took the photo at the top on our last visit a couple of years ago.