Piedras Blancas Light Station on Point Piedras Blancas along California’s central coast began operating in 1875 with a first-order Fresnel lens and later gained a sound signal. After federal lighthouse management shifted to the Coast Guard in 1939, repeated earthquake damage culminated in a 1948 offshore quake that led to removal of the tower’s upper three floors, leaving it about 70 feet tall. Automated in 1975, the station became unmanned and later also served biological research and wildlife protection. Managed since 2001 for public access, research, and restoration, it now combines maritime history, coastal wildlife, and marine conservation.