{"nrhp_refnum":"93001373","name":"St. George Reef Light Station","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"NW Seal Rock, approximately 6 nautical mi. off coast from Point St. George","address_restricted":false,"city":"Crescent City","county":"Del Norte County","state":"CA","lat":41.83701921800008,"lon":-124.37658397499996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1993-12-09","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Maritime History","Transportation","Engineering","Commerce"],"significance_levels":["local"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A seven-story masonry wave-swept lighthouse tower on an oval stone pier atop Northwest Seal Rock, about six nautical miles off Point St. George near Crescent City, Del Norte County, California. It was built between 1883 and 1891 under the Office of the Light-House Engineer, Twelfth District.","why_significant":"The station is significant under Criterion A for reflecting California's reliance on maritime transportation and the navigation aids that supported it. Under Criterion C, it is one of two wave-swept towers on the Pacific Coast and one of few in the United States, culminating a line of marine engineering that began with the Eddystone towers. Its square stone tower is also an unusual design.","narrative":"Perched on Northwest Seal Rock, the outermost rock of St. George Reef, this granite lighthouse rises 146 feet above mean high water from an oval masonry pier roughly six miles off Point St. George. Construction ran from 1883 to 1891, slowed by scarce funding and severe seas, and used over 14,000 tons of stone. The total cost approached $726,000. The light first operated in August 1892 with a First Order Fresnel lens. Life at the station was hard: a keeper died in 1893 while landing, and storms repeatedly damaged equipment. It is listed as one of two wave-swept towers on the Pacific Coast, a type built to withstand the full force of the sea, and for its unusual square stone form. The station was disestablished in 1975, when the lens went to a Crescent City museum. Interiors were altered in 1955, but the exterior remains well preserved.","period_of_significance":"1867-1940","architect_builder":"Office of the Light-House Engineer, Twelfth District","architectural_style":"Other: lighthouse/utilitarian; wave-swept tower","criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"The station was disestablished in 1975 and the Fresnel lens was removed. Interiors were remodeled in 1955 with loss of integrity, while the exterior of the tower and pier retains a high degree of integrity. Current function is listed as vacant/not in use.","vacant_flag":true,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:54:28.030747-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/lz/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_CA/93001373.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/93001373/0faa9facd2-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/93001373/0faa9facd2-1600.webp","licence":"Public domain","author":"USCG","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stgeorgereef.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">USCG</a>, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stgeorgereef.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/123857370","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._George_Reef_Light","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7588222"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/california/del-norte-county/st-george-reef-light-station-93001373/"}