Point San Luis Light
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The Point San Luis Lighthouse is the only surviving Prairie Victorian model lighthouse that remains in existence on the West Coast of the United States. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and is presently being refurbished by the Point San Luis Lighthouse Keepers, a volunteer group.
Although the Point San Luis Light Station is one of the most important historical sites in San Luis Obispo County, it is rarely visited by the public because of restricted access to the property; there are docent led hikes that are led by volunteers, however.
The need for a lighthouse at Point San Luis was recognized as early as 1867. In that year, President Andrew Johnson directed by Executive Order the Department of the Interior to investigate the logistics of placing a Lighthouse at that location. In the 1870s, Port Harford was quite busy, averaging 400 ships per year arriving at that location, and the need for a lighthouse was again discovered. In 1877, the Tribune of San Luis Obispo reported that Congressman Romualdo Pacheco had introduced a bill for the construction of a lighthouse at Point San Luis. This early effort was not successful, but in 1886 Congress finally passed the funding authorization for the lighthouse.
The construction of the Lighthouse was delayed and it took the near disaster of a ship sinking to move the project ahead. On the night of April 29, 1888, a ship called the Queen of the Pacific began to take on water. It was about 2 AM and the ship was about 15 miles from Port Harford. The captain turned his ship to the harbor but had to proceed slowly because of the dark and for fear of the rocks at the harbor entrance. The ship made it to within about 500 feet of the pier, where it settled to the bottom in just 22 feet of water. Since most of the ship was still above water, there were no lives lost. It was argued, however, that with a lighthouse to guide it, the ship would have easily made it to the pier. This provided the final impetus for the creation of the lighthouse.
The lighthouse was completed in June 1890, and was officially lit for the first time on June 30, 1890. By specification, the 4th Order Fresnel lens would generate alternate red and white flashes of light every 30 seconds that would be visible 17 nautical miles out to sea. In 1969, the Fresnel lens was retired (it is currently on display in the City County Library in San Luis Obispo) and replaced by an automated electric light. In 1974, the Coast Guard decommissioned the light station.
In 1992, the Port San Luis Harbor District received the Point San Luis site from the Federal Government, with the understanding that the station be restored and opened to the public. In 1995, the Point San Luis Lighthouse Keepers non-profit corporation was created to manage that task.
