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New Point Loma Light

The “new” Point Loma Light was built in 1891 to replace the Old Point Loma Lighthouse (completed in 1855), which, like the first lighthouse on Point Bonita, was built too high (the light was 462 feet [140.8 m] above sea level) and was ineffective because of elevation and high fog! The original Point Loma Lighthouse was built on top of Point Loma at the mouth of San Diego Bay in San Diego, California. The old lighthouse is located in the Cabrillo National Monument.

The new Point Loma Light is located only 88 feet (26.8 m) above sea level, on the extreme tip of Point Loma, at Pelican Point. The lighthouse has a 600,000 candlepower light that can be seen for approximately 15 miles (24 km). In addition to the light, there is a two-tone diaphone fog signal that is synchonized with a radio beacon, every 3 minutes, for distance finding in inclement weather. The skeleton frame of the light surrounds an enclosed stairway to the lower platform. At the base of the structure is the building that houses the fog signal.

The lighthouse was fully automated in 1973, and its Fresnel lens rotated 24 hours/day until warping stopped its motion in 1997. A replacement beacon was used to avoid repairs that would have been too costly. In 2002, the Fresnel lens was dismantled and removed from the tower. After restoration, the lens was placed on display in the replica keeper’s dwelling that was constructed adjacent to the Old Point Loma Lighthouse.

I photographed the new Point Loma Light from a catamaran off Point Loma, where my nephew was married at sea. The new light also can be viewed from a lookout near the Old Point Loma Lighthouse or by taking a road down to the tide pools at the base of the point.

-Bill at

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©2010 William F. Hackett. All Rights Reserved.

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