Fort Point Light, San Francisco, California
Located at he south end of the narrowest point of the Golden Gate strait, Fort Point Light was first established in 1855, and first lit with a fourth order Fresnel Lens in 1864.
FORT POINT LIGHT
Location: Entrance to San Francisco Harbor, directly beneath the south anchorage of the Golden Gate Bridge; nearest Town or City is San Francisco, California
Date Built: 1853
Type of Structure:
- 1855: Cape Cod style structure with a lantern on the roof that was destroyed in 1855 to make room for the fort.
- 1863: Two-story wooden structure was demolished in 1863 to allow corrections to the seawall.
- 1864: Present white cast iron tower, nine-sided, located on fort with foundation of Brick and granite third system fortification.
Height: 27 feet with height of focal plane at 110 feet
Characteristics: Alternate white & red flashes 5 sec, 30 sec revolution
Lens: 1864 had a fourth order Fresnel lens
Foghorn: Originally bell, later fog trumpet in concrete for signal building built in 1904
Status: Deactivated in 1934; discontinued because of the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge because the bridge would block off a major part of the light from the site.
Historical Information:
- National Register of Historic Places part of listing Reference #70000146. Fort Point National Historic Site added to list in 1970.
Keepers:
- B.F. Deane (1855-?)
- J.C. Frachey (?)
- George D. Wise (1860)
- Henry Hickson (1860-?)
- John D. Jenkins (?-1863)
- George W. Omey (1863)
- Scott Blanchard (1864-1866)
- R.S. Martin (1866-1869)
- Frank Thompson (1869-1871)
- J.T. Hule (1871-1878)
- James Rankin (1878)
Assistants:
- Ephrin Sohn (1856-?)
- Return J. Henter (1857-1859)
- George D. Wise (1858-1860)
- D. Dennison (1860)
- G.W. Thomas (1860)
- James Gormley (1860-?)
- James Jenkins (1860-?)
- James Heron (1860-?)
- C.H. Warren (?)
- G.W. Omey (?-1863)
- G.A. Braley (1863)
- J.J. Wickersham (1863-1865)
- Ann Blanchard (1865-1866)
- William Ferry (1866-1867)
- Mrs. Rachel L. Jones (1867-1868)
- Theresa Welch (1868)
- F.B. Morehouse (1868-1869)
- Mrs. Mary Thompson (1869-1871)
- Sophie Hule (1874-1878)
- John Riley (1878-1879)
- H.P. McKeever (1879)
- Frank P Stanyan (1879)
Researched and written by Catherine (Kitty) Price, a Chesapeake Chapter of the U.S. Light House Society volunteer.