Fort Point Light, San Francisco

Fort Point Light

Fort Point Light
Location	just below the Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco, California
Coordinates
Year first constructed	1853
Year first lit	1864 (current tower)
Deactivated	1934
Foundation	brick and granite third system fortification
Construction	cast iron
Tower shape	conical (nine-sided)
Markings / pattern	white tower with a black lantern room
Height	27 feet (8.2 m) (110 feet (34 m) feet above sea level)
Original lens	Fourth order Fresnel lens (1864) (removed)
Characteristic	Alternate white & red flashes 5 sec, 30 sec revolution
ARLHS number	USA-295

This article is about the lighthouse in San Francisco. For the lighthouse in Galveston Bay, see Fort Point Light (Texas). For the lighthouse in Maine, see Fort Point Light (Maine).

Fort Point Light was a lighthouse on Fort Point, directly beneath the south anchorage of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970, reference #70000146.

Structures

There have been three lighthouses at Fort Point.

The original lighthouse, built in 1853, was a Cape Cod style lighthouse with an integral tower. It stood for only three months, and was never lit. While awaiting the arrival of its lens (from Paris), it was torn down to make room for the Army fort.

The second lighthouse at Fort Point was a squat wooden 36-foot (11 m) tower with four sides that sloped up to a square watch room. It was built on the narrow ledge between the fort and the water. In 1855, the light behind its fourth-order Fresnel lens was lit for the first time. Erosion undermined its foundation, and in 1863 it was torn down to make way for a bigger seawall.

Fort Point’s third lighthouse was built atop the wall of the fort. It was originally a small iron skeleton tower with a fifth-order lens. In 1902, the lens was upgraded to a fourth-order lens, which produced alternating white and red flashes.

In 1933, when work on the Golden Gate Bridge began, a fog signal and navigational light were placed at the base of the bridge’s south tower. In 1934, when the towers for the Golden Gate Bridge were completed, the lighthouse was deactivated. The bridge would block off much of the light from the lighthouse, and as the towers were 740 feet (226 m) tall, they provided a more visible warning for mariners.

Keepers

Early keepers of Fort Point Light included:

• B. F. Deane (1855-?)
• J. C. Frachey (?)
• George D. Wise (1860)
• Henry Hickson (1860-?)
• John D. Jenkins (?-1863)
• George W. Omey (1863)
• Scott Blanchard (1864–1866)
• R. S. Martin (1866–1869)
• Frank Thompson (1869–1871)
• J. T. Hule (1871–1878)
• James Rankin (lighthouse keeper) (1878–1919)
• George D. Cobb (lighthouse keeper) (?-1939)

Fort Point Light amidst naval artillery rifles – U.S. Coast Guard Archive

Assistant keepers included:

• Ephrin Sohn (1856-?)
• Return J. Henter (1857–1859)
• George D. Wise (1858–1860)
• D. Dennison (1860)
• G. W. Thomas (1860)
• James Gormley (1860-?)
• James Jenkins (1860-?)
• James Heron (1860-?)
• C. H. Warren (?)
• G. W. Omey (?-1863)
• G. A. Braley (1863)
• J. J. Wickersham (1863–1865)
• Ann Blanchard (1865–1866)
• William Ferry (1866–1867)
• Mrs. Rachel L. Jones (1867–1868)
• Theresa Welch (1868)
• F. B. Morehouse (1868–1869)
• Mrs. Mary Thompson (1869–1871)
• Sophie Hule (1874–1878)
• John Riley (1878–1879)
• H. P. McKeever (1879)
• Frank P. Stanyan (1879)

External links

• National Park Service Fort Point Page
• www.us-lighthouses.com Fort Point Lighthouse Page at www.us-lighthouses.com
• U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Fort Point Lighthouse (historical)