{"nrhp_refnum":"71000138","name":"East Brother Island Light Station","other_names":[],"category":"district","location":{"address":"On East Brother Island W of Point San Pablo","address_restricted":false,"city":"Richmond","county":"Contra Costa County","state":"CA","lat":37.96331943300004,"lon":-122.43359750099995,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1971-02-12","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Architecture","Maritime History"],"significance_levels":["national"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A small off-shore lighthouse complex on East Brother Island, one of the two Brothers Islands at the junction of San Francisco Bay and San Pablo Bay near Richmond, Contra Costa County, California. It was built in 1873-74 for the Lighthouse Board.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the station is a well-preserved example of the modest Victorian style known as \"Carpenters Gothic\" and one of the last remaining \"family\" or \"housekeeping\" lighthouse stations on San Francisco Bay. It also records the light and fog signal's long role in maritime safety from 1874 until automation in 1969.","narrative":"East Brother Island Light Station is a compact group of white wooden Victorian buildings on a small rocky island at the meeting of San Francisco and San Pablo Bays. Built in 1873-74 after the top of the rock was blasted flat, it includes a turreted light tower with living quarters, a boat-house and engine room, a shop and storage building, a water tank, a domed cistern and a landing dock, all inside a white picket fence. The light first shone on March 1, 1874, and a steam fog signal began on May 1. Keepers and later Coast Guardsmen kept it running almost continuously until automation in 1969. Captain John Stenmark raised a family there for twenty years from 1894. The nomination values the station as a fine example of modest \"Carpenters Gothic\" design and as one of the last family-style lighthouse stations on the Bay. It was nominated while the buildings faced demolition.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (built 1873-4)","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Victorian \"Carpenters Gothic\"","criteria":[],"status_note":"Listed as in good condition, altered, and unoccupied; the light and fog signal were automated in 1969 and the buildings were slated for demolition at the time of nomination.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.666591-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/71000138.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000138/7819c404a7-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/71000138/7819c404a7-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 3.0","author":"Frank Schulenburg","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:East_Brother_Light_on_an_early_morning_in_March.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Frank Schulenburg</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 3.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:East_Brother_Light_on_an_early_morning_in_March.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123858520","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/East_Brother_Island_Light","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q5327959"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/contra-costa-county/east-brother-island-light-station-71000138/"}