Alcatraz Island Light
Alcatraz Island Lighthouse
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Location of Alcatraz Island Light
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| Location | Alcatraz Island, San Francisco Bay, California, United States |
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| Coordinates | 37°49′34.5″N 122°25′19.8″W / 37.826250°N 122.422167°WCoordinates: 37°49′34.5″N 122°25′19.8″W / 37.826250°N 122.422167°W |
| Year first constructed | 1854 (first) |
| Year first lit | 1909 (current) |
| Automated | 1963 |
| Foundation | Masonry basement |
| Construction | Reinforced concrete |
| Tower shape | Tapered octagonal prism tower with balcony and lantern |
| Markings / pattern | Unpainted tower, black lantern |
| Height | 84 feet (26 m) |
| Focal height | 214 feet (65 m) |
| Original lens | Third order Fresnel lens (removed) |
| Current lens | DCB-24 aerobeacon |
| Range | 22 nautical miles (41 km; 25 mi) |
| Characteristic | Fl W 5s. |
| Admiralty number | G4082 |
| ARLHS number | USA-003 |
| USCG number | 6-4315 |
| Managing agent |
Golden Gate National Recreation Area |
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Alcatraz Island Light
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| Part of | Alcatraz (#76000209) |
| Designated CP | June 23, 1976 |
Golden Gate National Recreation Area
Alcatraz Island Lighthouse is a lighthouse – the first one built on the U.S. West Coast – located on Alcatraz Island in California's San Francisco Bay. It is located at the southern end of the island near the entrance to the prison. The first light house on the island was completed in 1854, and served the bay during its time as a Citadel and military prison. It was replaced by a taller 95 feet (29 m) above mean sea level) concrete tower built in 1909 to the south of the original one which was demolished after it was damaged due to earthquake in 1906. The automation of the lighthouse with a modern beacon took place in 1963, the year Alcatraz closed as the Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary. It is the oldest light station on the island with a modern beacon and is part of the museum on the island. Although when viewed from afar it easily looks the tallest structure on Alcatraz, it is actually shorter than the Alcatraz Water Tower, but as it lies on higher ground it looks much taller.
Even though the Native Indians of the San Francisco area are stated to be the original settlers on the island (they collected eggs from the large flock of birds that regularly gathered there), Alcatraz got its name in 1775 only when Juan de Ayala, a Spaniard was engaged to survey the harbor and the San Francisco Bay. Since he observed pelicans in large numbers on the island he named the island as "Isla de los Alcatraces” meaning the “Island of Pelicans”. The island is separated from the main land by more than 1 mile (1.6 km).
The gold rush and the inherent risk of the choppy waters of the west coast prompted the urgent need for establishing lighthouses. Congress recognized the need and passed suitable acts in the years 1851 and 1852 to build seven lighthouses on the West Coast to guide navigation. The Baltimore firm of Gibbons and Kelly was awarded the contract to build seven lighthouses in California, at Alcatraz Island, Fort Point, Point Piños, Point Loma, Farallon Island, and Humboldt Bay, and one at Cape Disappointment in Washington State. Equipment were shipped on Oriole, reached San Francisco on January 29, 1853. The Alcatraz Lighthouse was the first to be completed in July 1853, making it the oldest major navigational light on the West Coast. However, the foundation for building the light house had begun much before the equipment reached San Francisco.
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Wikipedia