Point Vicente Light

Point Vicente Lighthouse is a lighthouse in Rancho Palos Verdes, California, United States, north of Los Angeles Harbor, which was built in 1926. It is tall and stands on a cliff with a height of . It is between Point Loma Lighthouse to the south and Point Conception Lighthouse to the north. The lighthouse was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1980. The lighthouse is owned by the United States federal government and is managed by the United States Coast Guard. It is not currently open to the public.

History

Point Vicente Lighthouse was built in 1926, following years of complaints from shipping about the dangerous waters around the Palos Verdes peninsula. It is situated just north of the entrances to the Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbors. The white cylindrical tower is tall, and the masonry structure is built on the edge of a cliff. This places the center of the lantern above the ocean.

The lighthouse had a classical third-order rotating Parisian Fresnel lens with a width of , which had been in use in Alaska since its construction in 1886 by Barbier, Benard, et Turenne, the oldest lens making company in the world. The lens is made up of hand-ground prisms held in place by a cast brass frame. When it was active, the 1.1 million candlepower-beam had a nominal (clear weather) visible range of .

In 1934 the Long Beach Radio Station opened in a neighboring building, which was used to monitor for distress signals.

The lighthouse was operated and maintained by the United States Lighthouse Service prior to that Service being merged with the U.S. Coast Guard, which was delegated all aid-to-navigation responsibilities in 1939.

The light source was dimmed to just 25 watts during World War II to avoid aiding the enemy. The lighthouse was manned until 1971 when it was automated by a remote electronic aids-to-navigation monitoring system, and the radio station was closed in 1980. In 2015, the Coast Guard announced its intention to replace the original third order lens with an LED light with a 14 nm range, replacing the current light and lens. In February 2019 the lens was removed from the light room.

The Coast Guard Light List specifies its light characteristic as being a pair of two white flashes, repeating that pair every 20 seconds. An emergency light of reduced intensity operates if the main light is extinguished. Now removed from the lantern room, the lens is on display at the Point Vicente Interpretive Center.

This lighthouse once incorporated a foghorn to warn ships during times of low visibility. The foghorn was dismantled in the early 2000s.

Keepers

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* George W. L'Hommedieu (1925–1930)
* Anton Trittinger (1930–1945)
* Joseph May (1945–1955)

Modern day usage

The Point Vicente Lighthouse and grounds are federal property owned and operated by the United States Coast Guard. The lighthouse is currently closed to the public.

The US Coast Guards Aids to Navigation Team Los Angeles/Long Beach (CG ANT LA/LB) is in charge of operation and maintenance of the lighthouse. Members of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary who are also members of the CG ANT LA/LB are in charge of the tours and open houses, assisted by the United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps.

In addition to the lighthouse, the property includes a museum and three houses, former Coast Guard personnel residences.

In popular culture

After World War II, a legend arose of a woman in a white gown seen pacing in the tower where the lens was located. Some said she was the widow of a lighthouse keeper, others that she was the spirit of a woman who had leaped off the cliff. The Coast Guard dispelled the rumors of the “Lady of the Light” by saying an extra coat of paint had been added to keep the light’s reflection from bothering nearby neighbors, which explained the so-called sightings.

The lighthouse has been a popular filming location going back to the 1958 TV series ''Sea Hunt'', and has been seen in episodes of ''The A-Team'', ''Emergency!'', ''Fantasy Island'', and ''Wonder Woman'' in the 70s and 80s, and in episodes of ''The Amazing Race'', ''CSI'', ''Doll & Em'', and ''NCIS'' in the 2010s and 2020s.

The lighthouse has been used as a filming location in the 2001 film ''Pearl Harbor'' and 2017 film ''Dunkirk''.

Gallery

File:Point Vicente Fresnel.jpg, View from inside the lantern room
File:MH-65 Point Vicente.webp, USCG MH-65 flies by
File:USCGpointvicente.JPG, Historical USCG photo
File:Point vicente light palos verdes.jpg, The light sits on a cliff
File:Point Vincente Light Cove.jpg, The cove beneath the lighthouse

See also

* List of lighthouses in the United States

References

*

Notes

External links

official Point Vicente Lighthouse website

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Lighthouse museums in California
Museums in Los Angeles County, California
Palos Verdes Peninsula
History of Los Angeles
Lighthouses completed in 1926
Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in California
Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Los Angeles County, California
Lighthouses in Los Angeles County, California