Point Conception Light

Point Conception Light

U.S. Coast Guard Archive
Location	Point Conception, California
Coordinates
Year first constructed	1856
Year first lit	1882 (current tower)
Automated	1973
Foundation	Stone
Construction	Stucco, wood and brick
Tower shape	Cylindrical tower behind building
Markings / pattern	white with black lantern
Height	52 feet (16 m)
Focal height	133 feet (41 m)
Original lens	First order Fresnel lens, removed 2012
Current lens	unknown
Range	20 nautical miles (37 km; 23 mi)
Characteristic	white flash every 30 s.
Fog signal	Horn: Continuous, 1 every 30 seconds
Admiralty number	G3964
ARLHS number	USA-620
USCG number	6-0200
Point Conception Light Station
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
U.S. Historic district
Nearest city	Santa Barbara, California
Area	29 acres (12 ha)
NRHP Reference #	81000176
Added to NRHP	February 25, 1981

Point Conception Light is a lighthouse on Point Conception at the west entrance of the Santa Barbara Channel, California. It is one of the earliest California lighthouses and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

History

Pen & Ink Drawing – U.S. Coast Guard

Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo sailed along the California coast in search for glory and gold. On October 18, 1542, he encountered heavy winds upon rounding the Point and was forced to turn back to San Miguel Island where he died. Second-in-command Bartolomé Ferrer took charge and again tried to round the Point but he was also unsuccessful.

The Point was named Punta de la Limpia Concepcion by Sebastián Vizcaíno in 1602, who was the next Spanish sailor to venture the Pacific waters along the California coast after Juan Cabrillo. The 1835 experience of the sailing ship Pilgrim, which was damaged and nearly capsized in a sudden change of weather here, is typical of boaters even today.

It was here at Point Conception in 1856, that the lighthouse was built high on the sandstone cliffs, above the location of the present lighthouse. The first order Fresnel lens and steel tower for the lighthouse were made in France at a cost of $65,068 and was transported around Cape Horn. A report indicates that the lighthouse was severely damaged during the Fort Tejon earthquake of January 9, 1857.

Aerial view, 2009

The lighthouse was moved in 1881 because the fog would be less likely to obscure the light, and was rebuilt from the top of the bluff to a mesa halfway down, 133 feet (41 m) above the Pacific Ocean. The light station was automated by the United States Coast Guard in 1973.

The lighthouse was used as the location for the film The Monster of Piedras Blancas (1959).

In recent years Vandenberg Air Force Base restricts access from the northwest, and a private ranch restricts access from the adjoining land although a few people have reached the lighthouse by hiking west along the narrow rugged public beach several miles from the nearest road during low tide. Some have also arranged well in advance with the Coast Guard for access.

See also

• Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary
• Channel Islands of California

References

• Shipwrecks, Smugglers and Maritime Mysteries, by Wheeler & Kallman, 1986

External links

• Inventory of Historic Light Stations - California Lighthouses - Point Conception Light