Point Reyes Light Station

Point Reyes Light Station occupies the far tip of a headland that juts into the Pacific in Marin County, California. The lighthouse sits on a rocky shelf about 240 feet above the sea, and most other buildings are on the hilltop 300 feet above, reached by a long concrete stairway. The 1870 sixteen-sided iron tower still holds its original 1st order Fresnel lens, made in Paris in 1867. Congress authorized a light here in 1854, but disputes with landowners delayed construction until 1870, and seven major shipwrecks occurred in the interim. Building the station meant hauling materials over steep hills and carving terraces from solid rock. The site is among the windiest and foggiest on the Pacific coast. Historic buildings include a 1928 power house, a 1934 transformer building, storage sheds, cisterns and watersheds. Its integrity, intact tower and lens, and role in California's maritime transportation led to its listing for Criteria A and C.