{"nrhp_refnum":"74000350","name":"Old Point Loma Lighthouse","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Included in Cabrillo National Monument","address_restricted":false,"city":"San Diego","county":"San Diego County","state":"CA","lat":32.67204041200006,"lon":-117.24115811499996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1974-06-27","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Transportation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A lighthouse at the end of the Point Loma peninsula in San Diego, within Cabrillo National Monument, begun in 1854 by a contractor's crew from the eastern United States. It is a Cape Cod style structure with a brick tower and sandstone dwelling.","why_significant":"It was the port of San Diego's first lighthouse and one of the first eight lighthouses built on the Pacific Coast, all by one firm under one contract. The nomination sees it as a symbol of the nation's first successful effort to provide navigational aids for the newly acquired west coast. It also serves as a landmark symbol of San Diego and a prominent feature of Cabrillo National Monument.","narrative":"Built in 1854 at the tip of the Point Loma peninsula, this Cape Cod style lighthouse was San Diego's first. It measures 20 by 30 feet, with a cellar, two upper floors and a small attic. A brick tower ten feet in diameter rises from the middle of the building, and the dwelling walls are sandstone. Basement tiles came from the ruins of nearby Spanish Fort Guijarros. A third order Fresnel lens was installed in November 1855, and the light guided ships along the coast and into the harbor until 1891, when it was abandoned and later vandalized. Repairs in 1915 and 1931 and renovation by 1935 followed, and during World War II it served briefly as a signal tower. It was one of the first eight lighthouses on the Pacific Coast, all built by one firm under one contract. Today it is a whitewashed landmark within Cabrillo National Monument, with interiors restored to about 1887.","period_of_significance":"19th Century and 20th Century; constructed 1854, in use 1855, abandoned 1891","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Cape Cod","criteria":[],"status_note":"Described as in good condition, altered, on its original site and unoccupied. Interior rooms have been restored to approximately their 1887 appearance, and the building is used as a museum and park feature.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:55:31.871345-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/74000350.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74000350/b0ce678652-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/74000350/b0ce678652-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Frank Schulenburg","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Point_Loma_Light_Station_in_2019.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Frank Schulenburg</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Old_Point_Loma_Light_Station_in_2019.jpg"},"district":{"nrhp_refnum":"66000224","name":"Cabrillo National Monument","url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/districts/california/cabrillo-national-monument-66000224/"},"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123860939","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Point_Loma_Lighthouse","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7084751"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/san-diego-county/old-point-loma-lighthouse-74000350/"}