The original Point Loma Lighthouse was built on top of Point Loma at the mouth of San Diego Bay, and was one of the first eight lighthouses on the Pacific Coast. It was built under contract by the firm of Gibbons and Kelly from Baltimore, Maryland, and the architect credited is Ammi B. Young of the Department of Treasury. Built in the Cape Cod style used for all lighthouses at the time, the structure was completed in 1854, which consisted of a 1 1/2 story dwelling with a central, spiral staircase leading to the lantern room perched atop the structure; the forty-foot tower rising from the center of the dwelling. A third-order Fresnel lens was purchased from Sautter & Co. in Paris, France for $3,810, and it was installed in 1855. At dusk on November 15, 1855, the wicks of the oil lamp were lit for the first time, and at a height of 462 feet above sea level, the light could be visible at sea for 28 miles on a clear day. Captain Robert Decatur Israel is the keeper most prominently associated with Point Loma. On June 2, 1871, Captain Israel was appointed Assistant Lighthouse Keeper. In 1874, Captain Israel was promoted to Keeper, and his wife Maria Arcadia Machado de Alipas Israel was appointed Assistant Keeper. The Israel's lived and worked on Point Loma for 18 years, though the Old Point Loma Lighthouse stood watch over the entrance to San Diego Bay for 36 years. Unfortunately, the location of the lighthouse had a serious flaw: fog and low clouds often obscured the light beam, and a decision to replace the Old Lighthouse was made. On March 23, 1891, Captain Israel extinguished the lamp for the last time; the Lighthouse was deactivated and the lens was removed. The Old Lighthouse was replaced later that year by a skeletal tower at the bottom of the hill, built closer to the water at the tip of the Point. In 1913, the old tower was set aside by President Wilson as a national monument, and one-half acres around the Lighthouse was set aside as Cabrillo National Monument by Presidential Proclamation. By 1935, the metal lantern room had been rebuilt, and the National Park Service restored the Lighthouse structure to its original condition. Postcard shows a front view of the original Point Loma Lighthouse, located at the mouth of San Diego Bay. it shows the Cape Cod style Lighthouse that had been boarded up and abandoned. A dirt road is visible in the forefront.
Point Loma Lighthouse (San Diego, Calif.) Lighthouses--California--Loma, Point Dwellings--California--Loma, Point Lighthouses--Lighting--California--Loma, Point Photographic postcards Postcards Point Loma (San Diego, Calif.) San Diego Bay (Calif.) Loma, Point (Calif.) San Diego (Calif.)
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