Fort Point Light

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Fort Point Light

Location:	Golden Gate Bridge, California
Coordinates WGS-84 (GPS)	Latitude: 37.8108 Longitude: -122.4771
Foundation:	Brick and Granite
Construction:	Iron
Year first lit:	1864
Year first constructed:	1853
Deactivated:	1934
Tower shape:	Nine-sided
Height:	27 ft
Original lens:	Fourth order Fresnel lens (removed)

Fort Point Lighthouse is a lighthouse in California, United States, directly beneath the south anchorage of the Golden Gate Bridge, California. The current tower is third tower to stand at the point.

[edit] History

The first Fort Point Lighthouse was completed in 1853. It was destroyed in 1855 to make room for the construction of Fort Point. The second lighthouse at Fort Point was a squat wooden 36 foot tower tower with four sides that sloped up to a square watch room. It was built on the narrow ledge between the fort and the water. In 1855, the light from a fourth-order Fresnel lens was lit for the first time. The tower was demolished in 1863 to allow corrections to the seawall. Fort Point’s current lighthouse was a small iron skeleton tower positioned atop the fort and had a fifth-order lens. In 1902, the lens was upgraded to a fourth-order lens, which produced alternating white and red flashes.

Work on the Golden Gate Bridge began in 1933. A fog signal and navigational light were placed at the base of the bridge’s south tower, and in 1934, the lighthouse was deactivated.

[edit] Previous Towers

• 1st Tower

1. Construction Date: 1853
2. Description: Cape Cod Style with intergral tower (Never Lit)
3. Fate/Disposition: Demolished after 3 months to make room for construction of Fort Point

• 2nd Tower

1. Construction Date: 1855
2. Description: Two-story truncated wood structure between Fort Point and the seawall
3. Fate/Disposition: Demolished after 8 years when the Army needed to make corrections to the seawall.