Point Montara Light

Lighthouse in California, United States

Lighthouse
37°32′11″N 122°31′10″W / 37.536503°N 122.519311°W / 37.536503; -122.519311TowerConstructed1881A (Current)
1900 (First)Foundationconcrete baseConstructionsteel towerAutomated1970Height30 feet (9.1 m)Shapetapered cylindrical tower with balcony and lanternOperatorMontara State Beach[1][2]HeritageNational Register of Historic Places listed place, California Points of Historical Interest Edit this on WikidataLightFirst lit1900 (First)
1928 (Current)Focal height70 feet (21 m)LensFourth order Fresnel lens (1912), FA 251 lens[clarification needed] (current)Range14 nmi (26 km; 16 mi) Edit this on WikidataCharacteristicFl W 5s.
Point Montara Light Station
Area7.3 acres (3.0 ha)Built1874 (1874)Built byUnited States Lighthouse ServiceArchitectural styleGothic, LighthouseMPSLight Stations of California MPSNRHP reference No.91001094[3]Added to NRHPSeptember 3, 1991

The Point Montara Light is a lighthouse in Montara, California, United States, on the southern approach to the San Francisco Bay, California approximately 25 miles south of San Francisco.

History

Point Montara Lighthouse was established in February 1875. It originally had a kerosene lantern, but was upgraded in 1912 to a fourth order Fresnel lens. The current tower was first erected in 1881 in Wellfleet, Massachusetts as the Mayo Beach Lighthouse. In 1925, the cast iron tower from the discontinued Mayo Beach Light was disassembled and moved to Yerba Buena. It was moved and rebuilt as the Point Montara Light station in 1928, where it stands today.[4] The lens was transferred to the San Mateo Historical Society when the lighthouse was automated in 1970, and is currently on display at the library at the College of Notre Dame in Belmont, California.

The lighthouse is not open to the public, and is the site of a youth hostel sponsored by Hostelling International USA (part of Hostelling International).[5] It was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1991.[3]

Undated USCG photo

The following was written prior to 1970: "Three men, including a First Class Boatswains Mate, as Officer-in-Charge, operate Point Montara Light, which provides a light and fog signal. This is a family station with quarters in a duplex constructed in 1961, which contains a 3 bedroom unit. A house built in 1863 provides quarters with a 2 bedroom and a separate relief keepers quarters. The station has no small boats assigned, but does have a pickup truck. Personnel and dependents at Point Montara utilize Government medical facilities, commissary and post exchange in the San Francisco area. The nearest school is within walking distance (1/4 mile) from the station."

In 2001 the lighthouse, specifically the hostel, was used in the film Bandits (2001 film) starring Bruce Willis, Cate Blanchett and Billy Bob Thornton. The location was converted into a small roadside inn. [1].

Marine Protected Areas

Montara State Marine Reserve & Pillar Point State Marine Conservation Area extend offshore from Montara. Like underwater parks, these marine protected areas help conserve ocean wildlife and marine ecosystems.

See also

  • flagCalifornia portal
  • iconEngineering portal

Note

A.^ The current tower was first built in Massachusetts in 1881, it was moved in 1928 where it currently stands as the most recent Point Montara Light.

References

  1. ^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of the United States: Northern California". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved June 13, 2016.
  2. ^ California Historic Light Station Information & Photography United States Coast Guard. Retrieved 13 June 2016
  3. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. November 2, 2013.
  4. ^ "Missing Cape Cod lighthouse located in Calif". Associated Press. June 4, 2008. Archived from the original on June 5, 2008. Retrieved June 4, 2008.
  5. ^ "Hostelling International USA – Point Montara Lighthouse". Archived from the original on January 5, 2012. Retrieved December 22, 2011.
  • "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: California". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on May 1, 2017.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Point Montara Lighthouse.
  • v
  • t
  • e
Main: List of lighthouses in the United States
flag California portal
  • v
  • t
  • e
Topics
Lists by state
Lists by insular areas
Lists by associated state
Other areas
Related
  • National Register of Historic Places portal
  • Category
  • v
  • t
  • e
Parks
Preserves
Monuments
Seashores
Historical Parks
Historic Sites
Memorials
Recreation Areas
Parks
Natural Reserves
Marine Reserves
Historic Parks
Beaches
Recreation Areas
Vehicular
Recreation Areas
Other
National Forests and Grasslands
National Forests
and Grasslands
National Wilderness
Preservation System
National Monuments
and Recreation Areas
Wildlife
Areas
  • Antelope Valley
  • Ash Creek
  • Bass Hill
  • Battle Creek
  • Big Lagoon
  • Big Sandy
  • Biscar
  • Butte Valley
  • Buttermilk Country
  • Cache Creek
  • Camp Cady
  • Cantara/Ney Springs
  • Cedar Roughs
  • Cinder Flats
  • Collins Eddy
  • Colusa Bypass
  • Coon Hollow
  • Cottonwood Creek
  • Crescent City Marsh
  • Crocker Meadows
  • Daugherty Hill
  • Decker Island
  • Doyle
  • Dutch Flat
  • Eastlker River
  • Eel River
  • Elk Creek Wetlands
  • Elk River
  • Fay Slough
  • Feather River
  • Fitzhugh Creek
  • Fremont Weir
  • Grass Lake
  • Gray Lodge
  • Green Creek
  • Grizzly Island
  • Hallelujah Junction
  • Heenan Lake
  • Hill Slough
  • Hollenbeck Canyon
  • Honey Lake
  • Hope Valley
  • Horseshoe Ranch
  • Imperial
  • Indian Valley
  • Kelso Peak and Old Dad Mountains
  • Kinsman Flat
  • Knoxville
  • Laguna
  • Lake Berryessa
  • Lake Earl
  • Lake Sonoma
  • Little Panoche Reservoir
  • Los Banos
  • Lower Sherman Island
  • Mad River Slough
  • Marble Mountains
  • Mendota
  • Merrill's Landing
  • Miner Slough
  • Monache Meadows
  • Morro Bay
  • Moss Landing
  • Mouth of Cottonwood Creek
  • Napa-Sonoma Marshes
  • North Grasslands
  • O'Neill Forebay
  • Oroville
  • Petaluma Marsh
  • Pickel Meadow
  • Pine Creek
  • Point Edith
  • Putah Creek
  • Rector Reservoir
  • Red Lake
  • Rhode Island
  • Sacramento River
  • San Felipe Valley
  • San Jacinto
  • San Luis Obispo
  • San Luis Reservoir
  • San Pablo Bay
  • Santa Rosa
  • Shasta Valley
  • Silver Creek
  • Slinkard/Little Antelope
  • Smithneck Creek
  • South Fork
  • Spenceville
  • Surprise Valley
  • Sutter Bypass
  • Tehama
  • Truckee River
  • Upper Butte Basin
  • Volta
  • Warner Valley
  • Waukell Creek
  • West Hilmar
  • Westlker River
  • White Slough
  • Willow Creek
  • Yolo Bypass
Ecological
Reserves
Marine
Protected
Areas
National Monuments
National
Conservation Areas
  • California Desert
  • King Range
Wilderness Areas
Heritage registers
National Natural Landmarks
Authority control databases: Geographic Edit this at Wikidata
  • Admiralty
    • G4010
  • ARLHS
  • MarineTraffic
  • USCG
    • 6-0335