Adventure 003, Site 086-Big Sur Lighthouse

Gary at the closed gate of Point Sur

Adventure: 003, Site 086-Big Sur Lighthouse
California Landmark Number: 951
National Registry of Historic Places ID: 91001097


Team: YOLT
Date:  September 28, 2013
Location:

Coordinates: 36°18′18″N 121°53′55″W

Address: St Hwy 1, 23 mi S of Monterey and 3 mi N of Andrew Molera St Pk

Description:
Date Built: 1889



This lightstation is the only turn of the century lightstation which is open for for public viewing in California. It shows in that its tours are fully booked on many days, as it was today. But coming up later in October is one of the top haunted lighthouse tours in the United States. The lightstation, to its credit, is still running, but it is fully automated. Until that time, the large Fensel lenses would guide the boats away from the dangers awaiting them on the point.



A whole catalog of ships have sank on the rocks of Point Sur. The most famous being Ventura in 1875. It was this wreck which caused the Point Sur light station to be funded. Other ships includes: the LOS ANGELES in 1894, the MAJESTIC in 1909, the SHNA-YAK in 1916, the THOMAS L. WAND in 1922, the BABINDA in 1923, the RHINE MARU, the PANAMA and the S. CATANIA in 1930, and the HOWARD OLSON in 1956. But it is not only the ships which glide across the water which has had their issues. The dirgible stationed at Moffet field, the USS Macon crashed off the shores of Point Sur in 1935.



Besides being a lightstation, it listens. The US Navy during the Cold War used Point Sur as a sonar listening post, listening for Soviet submarines. Even today, the Navy has a precencse on the site with its one building, still listening and protecting us.



NO. 951 LIGHT STATIONS OF CALIFORNIA (THEMATIC), POINT SUR LIGHT STATION - Spanish explorers and later New England hide and tallow traders found the Big Sur coastline a great hazard. Heavy fogs and extreme winds caused the wreck of many vessels on this coast. The gold rush of 1849 dramatically increased coastal shipping. A lighthouse was clearly needed. President Andrew Johnson signed the Executive Order which reserved the site for lighthouse purposes in 1866. Construction began in 1887 and the lamp was lit on August 1, 1889.
Location: St Hwy 1, 23 mi S of Monterey and 3 mi N of Andrew Molera St Pk



References:

• Big Sur Chamber of Commerce site
  
• Point Sur State Historic Park
  
• Friends of Point Sur site
  
• Wikipedia
  
• National Registry of Historic Places: Documentation and Pictures
  
• HMDB-Lightstation and USS Macon
  
• WAY
  
• NoeHill
  

Overall Landmark References:

• David Schmitt's California State Historical Landmark (Schmitt)
  
• Wikipedia: California's National Landmarks (WCNL)
  
• State of California's California Historical Landmarks (CHL)
  
• Wikipedia: California State Landmarks (WCSL)
  
• State of California Historical Resources (CHR)
  
• National Registry of Historical Places (NRHP)
  
• NoeHill (NOE)
  
• Historical Marker Database (HMDB)
  
• Waymarking (WAY)