OLD POINT LOMA LIGHTHOUSE, CALIFORNIA

With the discovery of gold at Sutter's Mill in 1848, ship traffic greatly increased on the west coast, prompting the construction of several lighthouses. The Point Loma Lighthouse was one of the original eight west coast lighthouses, built under contract by the firm of Gibbons and Kelly from Baltimore. Six of the original eight, including the Point Loma Lighthouse, were built in the cape cod style, consisting of a one and a half story dwelling with a central, spiral staircase leading to the lantern room perched atop the structure.

The site selected for the lighthouse was the summit of Point Loma, a narrow finger of land forming the western boundary of San Diego's harbor and protecting it from the Pacific Ocean. On April 7, 1854, following the successful completion of lighthouses on Alcatraz Island, Fort Point and on the Farallon Islands, the schooner Vaquero finally arrived in San Diego with the necessary building supplies for the Point Loma Lighthouse.

First, a road had to be constructed from the harbor to the top of the barren point. Sandstone for the dwelling was quarried on the point, while bricks were used to construct the tower and tiles from the ruins of the old Spanish Fort Guijarros were used for the basement floor. Water, needed for the mortar, had to be hauled from a well located seven miles from the site.


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