Point Conception Light
Point Conception Light by U.S. Coast Guard Archive
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 California
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| Location |
Point Conception California United States |
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| Coordinates | 34°26′55.51″N 120°28′14.71″W / 34.4487528°N 120.4707528°WCoordinates: 34°26′55.51″N 120°28′14.71″W / 34.4487528°N 120.4707528°W |
| Year first constructed | 1856 (first) |
| Year first lit | 1882 (current) |
| Foundation | stone basement |
| Construction | stucco, brick and wooden tower |
| Tower shape | cylindrical tower with lantern behind fog signal building |
| Markings / pattern | white tower, black lantern, greenish lantern roof |
| Height | 52 feet (16 m) |
| Focal height | 133 feet (41 m) |
| Original lens | First order Fresnel lens Now on display |
| Current lens | VRB-25 |
| Range | 20 nautical miles (37 km; 23 mi) |
| Characteristic | Fl W 30s. |
| Fog signal | continuous blast every 30s. |
| Admiralty number | G3964 |
| ARLHS number | USA-620 |
| USCG number | 6-0200 |
| Managing agent |
United States Coast Guard |
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Point Conception Light Station
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| Nearest city | Lompoc, California |
| Area | 29 acres (12 ha) |
| NRHP Reference # | 81000176 |
| Added to NRHP | February 25, 1981 |
| Heritage | place listed on the National Register of Historic Places 
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United States Coast Guard
Point Conception Light is a lighthouse on Point Conception at the west entrance of the Santa Barbara Channel, California. It is one of the earliest California lighthouses and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo sailed along the California coast in search for glory and gold. On October 18, 1542, he encountered heavy winds upon rounding the Point and was forced to turn back to San Miguel Island where he died. Second-in-command Bartolomé Ferrer took charge and again tried to round the Point but he was also unsuccessful.
The Point was named Punta de la Limpia Concepcion by Sebastián Vizcaíno in 1602, who was the next Spanish sailor to venture the Pacific waters along the California coast after Juan Cabrillo. The 1835 experience of the sailing ship Pilgrim, which was damaged and nearly capsized in a sudden change of weather here, is typical of boaters even today.
It was here at Point Conception in 1856, that the lighthouse was built high on the sandstone cliffs, above the location of the present lighthouse. The first order Fresnel lens and steel tower for the lighthouse were made in France at a cost of $65,068 and was transported around Cape Horn. A report indicates that the lighthouse was severely damaged during the Fort Tejon earthquake of January 9, 1857.
The lighthouse was moved in 1881 because the fog would be less likely to obscure the light, and was rebuilt from the top of the bluff to a mesa halfway down, 133 feet (41 m) above the Pacific Ocean. The light station was automated by the United States Coast Guard in 1973.
The lighthouse was used as the location for the film The Monster of Piedras Blancas (1959).
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Wikipedia