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San Luis Obispo, CA |
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Description:
Under the shelter of Point San Luis, on the southwestern shore of San Luis Bay, John Harford completed a 540-foot-long pier in 1873, and then extended it to 1500 feet in 1876. A 30-inch narrow gauge railroad ran along the wharf and eventually tied the harbor, then known as Port Harford, to San Luis Obispo and other Central Coast communities. Port Harford became a vital link for transporting both passengers and commerce to and from the area.
The project, however, suffered some setbacks. Acquiring the desired parcel on the headland at Point San Luis proved difficult, and then the first bids on the project were too high. While construction on the lighthouse was delayed, the need for a light at the harbor was punctuated by an event on May 1, 1888. The steamship Queen of the Pacific began taking on water fifteen miles out from Part Harford. The captain headed for the port, but with no light to mark the harbor, he was forced to make his way slowly in the dark. The water-laden steamship finally settled to the bottom of the harbor just 500 feet short of the pier. Fortunately, a good portion of the ship remained above the waterline, and the passengers were safely off-loaded. Perhaps spurred by this event, progress towards completion of the lighthouse was made over the next several months, and the harbor was lit for the first time on June 30, 1890. An article in San Luis Obispo’s Daily Republic described the new light station: “The light is shown from a black lantern surmounting a square frame tower attached to the southwest corner of a one and a half story frame dwelling painted white, trimmings lead color, blinds green and the roof brown. About 50 yards to the eastward stands a one and a half-story double dwelling painted in a similar manner, between the two dwellings … stands the fog signal building with its two black smokestacks, and painted like the dwellings.”
From the eastern end of Point San Luis, a federal breakwater, which encompassed Whalers Island, was built between 1893 and 1913. A small wharf located near the juncture of the breakwater and the mainland provided the primary means of access to the lighthouse, though a crude wagon road also reached the station. In 1961, the Coast Guard replaced the double dwelling with a one-story duplex. The Fresnel lens was deactivated in 1969 and replaced by a modern beacon. The station remained staffed for five more years until the station was fully automated in 1974. The fourth-order Fresnel lens was originally on display at the San Luis Obispo County Historical Museum, but is currently housed in a modern lantern room in the San Luis Obispo Library. Ownership of the 30-acre light station was transferred to the Port San Luis Harbor District in 1992, and a non-profit group, the Point San Luis Lighthouse Keepers, was formed in 1995 to work towards the restoration of the light station. Besides the lighthouse, the fog signal building, oil house, two cisterns, two duplexes, and a privy remain. Much progress has been made by the modern-day keepers. The exteriors of all of the structures were painted during the summer of 2003, and the parlor inside the lighthouse has been fully restored and furnished with period pieces provided by a local chapter of the Questers. Plans are in place to improve the access road to the station; however, due to security concerns at the Diablo Canyon Power Plant, the road will likely not be available for transporting visitors to the site. Instead, the lighthouse wharf will be rebuilt and water access will hopefully be provided to the general public in the future.
References
Purchase prints and gifts featuring photographs on this page Location: Located on the San Luis Head roughly thirteen miles southwest of San Luis Obispo. Latitude: 35.1604 Longitude: -120.76105 For a larger map of San Luis Obispo Lighthouse, click the lighthouse in the above map or get a map from: Mapquest. Travel Instructions: The lighthouse can currently be visited by signing up for a docent-led hike along the Pecho Coast Trail offered on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 9 a.m. The half-day, 3.5-mile hike to the lighthouse offers a spectacular view of San Luis Obispo Bay. To listen to recorded information about the hike, call (805) 541-TREK. A Holiday Celebration will be held at the lighthouse on December 12 and 13, 2009. The Point San Luis Lighthouse Keepers hold occasional workdays at the lighthouse, which provides an opportunity to not only visit the lighthouse but actually contribute towards its preservation as well. For more information, call (805) 540-5771. The fourth-order Fresnel lens from the lighthouse is currently housed in a modern lantern room in the San Luis Obispo Library. The lighthouse is owned by Port San Luis Harbor District. Grounds/lighthouse open during scheduled hikes. Find the closest hotels to San Luis Obispo Lighthouse Notes from a friend: Kraig writes:We were given a tour of the lighthouse by a member of the Point San Luis Lighthouse Keepers on a third Saturday in 2003. We first viewed the work being done in the kitchen, and were then led upstairs to see the unfinished bedrooms. Next, we returned downstairs to see the sitting room, and then were finally escorted into the recently restored parlor. Our guide must have saved the parlor until the end so we could see the dramatic contrast between this restored room and the other rooms, which still require much attention. His plan worked, as I got goose bumps when I walked into the parlor. The present-day keepers of the lighthouse are doing a great job. Although a scarcity of funds and spare-time might prolong their effort, much progress is clearly being made at the light station. See our List of Lighthouses in California |
