The yellow-brick foghorn building, the pier, and the beacon tower west of the lighthouse reflect the final years of 30-Mile Point Lighthouse's operation. When the lighthouse was built, most supplies arrived by boat, and a pine timber dock was added in 1903 to make delivery easier. A cement pier was built in 1935 to help protect the shore from erosion, a serious problem there since the lighthouse was first constructed, and in 1954 the U.S. Coast Guard added large boulders along the shore for further protection. The foghorn building was installed in 1934, and after the U.S. Coast Guard took over lighthouse operations in 1939, 30-Mile Point's compressed-air foghorn warned ships away from the shore on foggy nights when the tower light could not be seen. Its equipment included an electric air compressor, an electric generator, and a combination unit that supplied auxiliary electric power and a backup air compressor. When the Coast Guard decommissioned the lighthouse in 1958, it placed an automated light beacon on a metal tower. In 1998, the Friends of 30-Mile Point Lighthouse purchased that beacon and, with Coast Guard assistance, installed it in the lighthouse tower, where it now simulates the lighthouse's historic nighttime character and has removed the need for the steel beacon tower; the Friends are responsible for its operation and maintenance.