Diamond Head Lighthouse, Honolulu, Hawaii
Activated 1898.
DIAMOND HEAD LIGHT
Location: DIAMOND HEAD/OAHU ISLAND
Station Established: 1899
Year Current Tower(s) First Lit: 1918
Operational? YES
Automated? YES 1924
Deactivated: n/a
Foundation Materials: Masonry
Construction Materials: Concrete
Tower Shape: Square
Markings/Pattern: White w/ red roof
Relationship to Other Structure: Separate
Original Lens: THIRD ORDER, FRESNEL 1899, built by Barbier and Benard.
Historical Information:
- 1856 - Wooden lookout tower constructed to watch for ships.
- 1893 - SS Miowera ran aground at Diamond Head prompting the Hawaiian legislature to recommend a lighthouse be established at Diamond Head.
- 1894 and 1895 - Funds requested for a lighthouse at Diamond Head, but nothing was allocated.
- 1897 - China ran aground, finally causing construction of an iron tower to begin. A 40’ open frame tower was constructed at Honolulu Iron Works, but never installed.
- 1898 - Hawaiian legislature deemed tower should be masonry, not skeletal iron.
- 1899 - 1st light established. This was the last primary light built by the Hawaiian government.
- 1904 - A floor was added to the tower, 14’ above ground level. Windows were placed in 2 existing openings in the tower walls and telephone lines were installed in the tower.
- 1910 - Incandescent oil vapor (IOV) system installed.
- 1917 - Funds allocated for new lighthouse.
- 1918 - Present lighthouse completed at a cost of $6,109. The characteristic was changed from fixed to group occulting.
- 1921 – Keeper’s house completed.
- 1924 - Lighthouse automated.
- 1939 - Light station turned over to the Coast Guard.
- 1980 - Placed on National Register of Historic Places.
Keepers:
- John M. Kaukaliu (1899 - 1914)
- Robert I. Reid (1915 - 1917, 1918 - 1919)
- Alexander D. Toomey (1919 - 1924)
- Charles K. Akana (1924)
- William J. Watkins (Assistant Keeper, Unknown - 1931)
Researched and written by Marie Vincent, a volunteer through the Chesapeake Chapter of the U.S. Lighthouse Society.