Point Vicente Lighthouse

Point Vicente Lighthouse is a lighthouse in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, United States, north of Los Angeles Harbor, which was built in 1926. It is 67 feet (20 m) tall and stands on a cliff with a height of 130 feet (40 m). It is between Point Loma Lighthouse to the south and Point Conception Lighthouse to the north. The lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The lighthouse is owned by the United States federal government and is managed by the United States Coast Guard. Visitors are allowed to access the lighthouse on the second Saturday of every month. History Point Vicente Lighthouse was built in 1926, following years of complaints from shipping about the dangerous waters around the Palos Verdes peninsula. It is situated just north of the entrances to the Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbors. The white cylindrical tower is 67 feet (20 m) tall, and the masonry structure is built on the edge of a 130-foot (40 m) cliff. This places the center of the lantern 185 feet (56 m) above the ocean. The lighthouse had a classical third-order rotating Parisian Fresnel lens with a width of 5 feet (1.5 m), which had been in use in Alaska since its construction in 1886 by Barbier, Benard, et Turenne, the oldest lens making company in the world. The lens is made up of hand-ground prisms held in place by a cast brass frame. When it was active, the 1.1 million candlepower-beam had a nominal (clear weather) visible range of 24 nautical miles (44 km; 28 mi). In 1934 the Long Beach Radio Station opened in a neighboring building, which was used to monitor for distress signals. The lighthouse was operated and maintained by the United States Lighthouse Service prior to that Service being merged with the U.S. Coast Guard, which was delegated all aid-to-navigation responsibilities in 1939. The light source was dimmed to just 25 watts during World War II to avoid aiding the enemy. The lighthouse was manned until 1971 when it was automated by a remote electronic aids-to-navigation monitoring system, and the radio station was closed in 1980. In 2015, the Coast Guard announced its intention to replace the original third order lens with an LED light with a 14 nm range, replacing the existing light and lens. In February 2019 the lens was removed from the light room. The Coast Guard Light List specifies its light characteristic as being a pair of two white flashes, repeating that pair every 20 seconds. An emergency light of reduced intensity operates if the main light is extinguished. Since it was removed from the lantern room, the lens has been on display at the Point Vicente Interpretive Center. This lighthouse once incorporated a foghorn to warn ships during times of low visibility. The foghorn was dismantled in the early 2000s. Keepers Head George W. L'Hommedieu (1925–1930) Anton Trittinger (1930–1945) Joseph May (1945–1955) Modern day usage The Point Vicente Lighthouse and grounds are federal property owned and operated by the United States Coast Guard. The lighthouse is closed to the public at this time, but the grounds are open every second Saturday of the month from 10am to 3pm. The US Coast Guards Aids to Navigation Team Los Angeles/Long Beach (CG ANT LA/LB) is in charge of operation and maintenance of the lighthouse. Members of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary who are also members of the CG ANT LA/LB are in charge of the tours and open houses, assisted by the United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps. In addition to the lighthouse, the property includes a museum and three houses, former Coast Guard personnel residences. In popular culture After World War II, a legend arose of a woman in a white gown seen pacing in the tower where the lens was located. Some said she was the widow of a lighthouse keeper, others that she was the spirit of a woman who had leaped off the cliff. The Coast Guard dispelled the rumors of the “Lady of the Light” by saying an extra coat of paint had been added to keep the light’s reflection from bothering nearby neighbors, which explained the so-called sightings. The lighthouse has been a popular filming location going back to the 1958 TV series Sea Hunt, and has been seen in episodes of The A-Team, Emergency!, Fantasy Island, Wonder Woman and V:The Final Battle in the 70s and 80s, and in episodes of The Amazing Race, CSI, Doll & Em, and NCIS in the 2010s and 2020s. The lighthouse has been used as a filming location in the 2001 film Pearl Harbor and 2017 film Dunkirk. Gallery See also List of lighthouses in the United States References "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: California". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on May 1, 2017. Notes External links Lighthouse Cam (archive only) Friends of the Point Vicente Lighthouse