Point Fermin Light

Point Fermin is a lighthouse on Point Fermin in San Pedro, California.

Point Fermin Light

Point Fermin Light
California
Location	Point Fermin San Pedro, Los Angeles California United States
Coordinates	33.705420°N 118.293649°W
Year first constructed	1874
Year first lit	1874
Deactivated	1942
Foundation	brick basement
Construction	wooden tower (first) metal pole (current)
Tower shape	square tower with balcony and lantern (first) pole with light (current)
Markings / pattern	white tower, grey trim (first)
Tower height	30 feet (9.1 m) (first)
Focal height	120 feet (37 m) (current)
Original lens	Fourth order Fresnel lens (Now on display)
Current lens	None (Lighthouse not active)
Characteristic	Fl W 10s. (Metal pole)
Admiralty number	G3794
ARLHS number	USA-621
USCG number	6-0140
Managing agent	Los Angeles Department of Recreation and Parks[1] [2]
Heritage	place listed on the National Register of Historic Places
Point Fermin Lighthouse
U.S. National Register of Historic Places
NRHP reference No.	72000234
Added to NRHP	June 13, 1972

History

The lighthouse was built in 1874 and designed by Paul J. Pelz, who also designed Point Fermin's sister stations, East Brother Island Light in Richmond, California, Mare Island Light, in Carquinez Strait, California (demolished in the 1930s), Point Hueneme Light in California (replaced in 1940), Hereford Inlet Light in North Wildwood, New Jersey, and Point Adams Light in Washington State (burned down by the Lighthouse Service in 1912), all in essentially the same style. The original fourth order Fresnel lens was removed in 1942 and a wood replica lantern was installed in 1974. The lighthouse was saved from demolition in 1972 and refurbished in 1974, and a new lantern room and gallery were built by local preservationists. In 1972, the light was added to the National Register of Historic Places.[3]

Historical Information from Coast Guard web site:

• Point Fermin Light was built in 1874 with lumber from California redwoods.
• In 1941, the light was extinguished due to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. There was fear that the light would serve as a beacon for enemy planes and ships. Later, the lantern room and gallery were removed. They were replaced by a lookout shack that remained for the next 30 years and was referred to as "the chicken coop" by locals.
• In 1972, the light was added to the National Register of Historic Places.
• The light fell into disuse and disrepair. A new lantern room and gallery were built in 1974.
• The building has now been restored to its original state and is open to the public as the Point Fermin Lighthouse Historic Site and Museum.

U.S. Coast Guard Archive

The original Fresnel lens from the lighthouse, removed in the 1940s, had been missing for decades. After being found and positively identified, on November 13, 2006, the lens was relocated to a display in the restored lighthouse museum from the real estate office of Louis Busch in Malibu, California, where it had been on display.[4]

The lighthouse is open daily except Monday and holidays.

In 1986, the lighthouse appeared in a second-season episode of Amazing Stories, "Magic Saturday". The lighthouse also featured in two episodes of MacGyver: "Flames's End" and "D.O.A.: MacGyver".[5]

In June 2011, the General Services Administration made the Point Fermin Light (along with 11 others) available at no cost to public organizations willing to preserve them.[6][7][8]

See also

• List of lighthouses in the United States
• List of Los Angeles Historic-Cultural Monuments in the Harbor area

References

1. Point Fermin The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 13 June 2016
2. California Historic Light Station Information & Photography United States Coast Guard. Retrieved 13 June 2016
3. "Asset Metadata: Point Fermin Lighthouse". National Park Service.
4. "Point Fermin Lighthouse". LighthouseFriends. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
5. "MacGyver Online: Filming Locations". MacGyver Online. Archived from the original on 2016-08-07. Retrieved 2018-07-21.
6. "For sale: Waterfront property; cozy, great views, plenty of light, needs TLC". CNN. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
7. Beatty, MaryAnne. "GSA Making 12 Historic Lighthouses Available at No Cost to Public Organizations Willing to Preserve Them". GSA Website. US General Services Administration. Archived from the original on 22 June 2011. Retrieved 12 July 2011.
8. Littlejohn, Donna (January 20, 2015). "City of Los Angeles wins bid to operate historic Point Fermin Lighthouse in San Pedro". Daily Breeze. Torrance, CA.

External links

• Point Fermin Lighthouse official site
• Point Fermin Lighthouse Historic Site and Museum - San Pedro tourism
• "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: California". United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Archived from the original on 2017-05-01.