Very cool place if you are lucky enough to be here on a day with no fog.
The lighthouse is one of the most scenic on the Pacific Coast and is surrounded on three sides by endless blue ocean. Lit in 1870, the lighthouse is located on a 37-foot tower placed at a level where it is often under the fog layer above, however, the lens itself becomes level with your viewpoint as you walk down to the lighthouse.
There is no fresh water at Point Arena. Water was needed to create the steam to power the fog horn. Coal-fired generators that made steam for the fog signals consumed large amounts of water. An elaborate catchment system was created to store rainwater in the same way a gutter catches all the water off the roof of your house. Rainwater flowed into a 52,000 gallon cistern from a catchment area of 20,000 square feet. During periods of drought, the lighthouse had to have horse-drawn wagons pull water tanks full of water obtained from local ranchers. Today, the dome of the cistern is still visible.
Consistent with other designs of the time, the light tower is sixteen sides of forged iron plate bolted to solid rock high above the ocean, 294 feet above sea level. Several buildings are squeezed onto this tiny promontory where the family quarters are situated, it took four men to run the first order light, fog signal and radio beacon. The present-day living quarters were built in 1960.
In the summer of 2018, the lighthouse went under a $5 million 14-month restoration project (not unlike the Point Arena restoration a few years ago) and was reopened in November 2019. During the restoration, an unexpected time capsule dated August 1929 was discovered in the foundation. The capsule contained 1929 newspapers of the time highlighting Prohibition, Babe Ruth and Zeppelin air travel, a phrase printed above the logo for the San Francisco Examiner in the April 22, 1929, edition read, “
America First.” A can of beer was advertised for 10 cents, and “
All Quiet on the Western Front” was published as a book. Ernest Borgnine was 12 years old and would go on to the star in the 1979 film remake of the book with Richard Thomas. The newspapers can be viewed on the National Park Service website for Point Reyes Lighthouse.
A new Time Capsule was created with October 2018 newspapers and reset into the foundation during the restoration.
And the ocean... endless!
My wife was pregnant a few months later and since babies and Ninjas don't go together too well, we sold the baby Ninja.
