Point Fermin Lighthouse in San Pedro (California) was built in 1874 based on a design by Paul J. Pelz, who also designed a number of other lighthouses in California, Washington State, and New Jersey. The lighthouses were all the same style and three are still in existence today – Poiint Fermin Light in San Pedro, East Brothers Light in San Francisco, and Hereford Light in New Jersey. The Point Fermin Light operated continually for 67 year before the start of WWII and it is now on the National Register of Historic Places.
In December 1941 the Point Fermin Light was extinguished because there was a fear that
enemy planes would use the light as a beacon and attack the Los Angeles Harbor.
At that time the original lantern room, gallery, and fourth order Fresnel Lens
were removed and a square, unsightly lookout sack was added in their place,
which became known as “the chicken coop” for the next 30 years.
In
1972 local preservationists saved the lighthouse from demolition and then
refurbished the building and rebuilt a new lantern room and gallery, patterned
after the original design. The original Fresnel Lens was lost for decades and
then on November 13, 2006 the lens was located, and positively identified, in a
real estate office in Malibu California, where it had been on display for a
number of years. The Lens has now been returned to the Point Fermin Light
Museum.
The
Point Fermin Lighthouse is open Tuesday through Sunday from 1:00 to 4:00 PM and
admission is free to the public. Tours are offered at 1:00, 2:00, and 3:00 PM.
Unfortunately, we visited the lighthouse on a Monday; plus, the fog rolled in just after we arrived.
(Picture by Kolohe)
(Picture by Kolohe)
(Picture by Kolohe)
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