Point Sur Lighthouse

Point Sur Lighthouse is a lightstation at Point Sur south of Monterey, California at the peak of the rock at the head of the point. It was established in 1889 and is part of Point Sur State Historic Park. The light house is tall and above sea level. As of 2016, and for the foreseeable future the light is still in operation as an essential aid to navigation. Point Sur is the only complete turn-of-the-20th-century lightstation open to the public in California. Three-hour walking tours guided by volunteers are available on Wednesdays and weekends throughout the year. The lighthouse has had four different light sources during its history. First, it had an oil wick lamp, and then an oil vapor lamp. Three different fuels were used: whale oil, lard oil, and kerosene. Electricity wasn't introduced to the surrounding area and light house until the 1950s. Since Point Sur was a major point used for navigation, it was equipped with first-order Fresnel lens, the largest made at the time. The lens was more than in diameter and tall. It weighed 4,330 pounds and included 16 panels of prisms, each with a bulls-eye in the center surrounded by concentric rings of prismatic glass. Its light beam could be seen to the horizon, which for the Point Sur light, at feet high, is . The entire structure, including the pedestal and clockworks was tall and weighed . Each ring projects the light beyond the previous one. In dense fog, the light beam might not be visible, so the lighthouse had a foghorn to alert ships. A coal-powered foghorn was installed when the light was used, but this labor-intensive system was replaced as soon as better technology was available. A steam-driven fog signal was installed by the turn of the century. It was fired by wood harvested from the redwoods of Big Sur. The steam boiler used about 100 cords of wood per year. Diaphone horns were placed on top of the fog-signal room from 1935 to 1960. The two horns produced a two-tone "bee-oh" sound. In 1972, the "Super Tyfon Double Fog Signal," named after the giant Typhon from Greek mythology, was put into use.