Point Loma Lighthouse

San Diego's first lighthouse guided ships along the coast and marked the entrance to the harbor for over 30 years. A captain reported seeing the light from as far as 39 miles. For many years it was the highest coastal light in the country, over 400 feet above sea level, so high that fog and low clouds often made it difficult to see. L. Sautter & Co. of Paris manufactured the third-order Fresnel lens, whose many circular elements directed a concentrated plane of light toward the horizon. An oil lamp with three concentric wicks provided a flame rated at 158 candle power. The lightkeeper and his assistant kept the lantern burning brightly and steadily from sundown to sunrise by polishing the lens, trimming the wicks, refueling the lamp, and keeping the plate glass windows and metalwork of the lantern spotless. A new lighthouse was built at a lower elevation in 1891.

San Diego, California · United States