Year first constructed 1855 (first) Automated 1980 Construction started 1855 Construction Brick | Year first lit 1877 (current) Foundation masonry basement Height 10 m | |
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Location San Francisco BayCaliforniaUnited States Hours Closed today WednesdayClosedThursdayClosedFridayClosedSaturday12:30–3:30PMSunday12:30–3:30PMMonday12:30–3:30PMTuesdayClosedSuggest an edit Similar Marin Headlands, Rodeo Beach, Fort Point - San Francisco, Muir Woods National, Fort Baker | ||
Point bonita lighthouse
Point Bonita Lighthouse is a lighthouse located at Point Bonita at the San Francisco Bay entrance in the Marin Headlands near Sausalito, California. Point Bonita was the last manned lighthouse on the California coast.
Contents
- Point bonita lighthouse
- Hiking san francisco hawk hill to point bonita lighthouse
- History
- In popular media
- References
Hiking san francisco hawk hill to point bonita lighthouse
History
The original Point Bonita Lighthouse, a 56-foot (17 m) brick tower, was located too high. Unlike the East Coast of the United States, the West Coast has dense high fog, which leaves lower elevations clear. The original light was 306 feet (93 m) above sea level so the second order Fresnel lens was often cloaked in fog and could not be seen from the sea. In 1877, the lighthouse was moved to its current location at 124 feet (38 m) above sea level. The United States Coast Guard currently maintains the light and fog signal. It is accessible to the public during limited hours (12:30 PM–3:30 PM) on Saturdays, Sundays, and Mondays. Up until 1940 the lighthouse could be reached without a bridge, but erosion caused a trail leading to the lighthouse to crumble into the sea. A wooden walkway was installed, but when that became treacherous the suspension bridge was built in 1954.
As of January 6, 2010, the suspension bridge to the light house was closed to public access. According to the Federal Highway Administration, the bridge, which was 56 years old, started to rust. It underwent repairs in 1979 and again in 1991, but the metal components were not able to stand up to the sea spray. The new span reopened April 13, 2012. The new bridge construction cost a little over $1 million. It is made of tropical hardwood with steel suspension cables and attachments.
Historical Information from USCG web site:
More than 300 boats ran aground near the Golden Gate during the Gold Rush years. One shipwreck, the SS City of Rio de Janeiro, is just a few hundred feet offshore from the light.
In popular media
On the television show Murder in the First the lighthouse was a setting at the end of the second-season episode "Schizofrenzy."
The lighthouse can be found in the video game Watch Dogs 2.