Cabrillo National Monument

Cabrillo National Monument covers about 144 acres near the south end of Point Loma in San Diego, rising to 422 feet at the peninsula's highest point. It was first designated to commemorate Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo's voyage and his discovery of San Diego Bay. The land was formerly part of Fort Rosecrans, headquarters of the harbor defenses of San Diego, and most of its historic resources reflect that military role. These include a 1918 radio station, concrete fire control stations used to aim coastal guns, searchlight shelters and a generator plant built in 1918-1919, the World War II Battery Bluff and Battery Point Loma, and the Bayside Trail, originally an Army road. The Old Point Loma Lighthouse, built of sandstone in 1854 and first lit in 1855, predates the military presence but was also used during both world wars. The district has 26 contributing and 8 noncontributing resources. Some structures have been sealed because of vandalism.