Point Vicente Lighthouse - a worthwhile point of interest
Point Vicente Lighthouse
- a worthwhile point of interest
Point Vicente Lighthouse - a worthwhile point of interest.
Maybe you’re like me and have never toured the Point Vicente Lighthouse. To help put this on your to-do list the tower and a small museum are open to the public. In March they are open the first Saturday of the month from 10:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. to coincide with the City's Whale of a Day event. Children under 7 are not allowed in the tower and pets are not allowed on the Coast Guard grounds. April through February this changes to 10:00 A.M. to 3:00 P.M. the second Saturday of each month. However, you may ask what’s there to know about this place.
The most basic facts are that the Palos Verdes Peninsula is the most prominent coastal feature between Point Loma to the south and Point Conception to the north. And the most striking feature in the lighthouse is the classical third-order rotating Fresnel Lens located in the lantern.
Point Vicente Lighthouse is one of California's newest lighthouses, built in 1926 on Los Angeles' Palos Verdes Peninsula. It is located just seven miles from the light on Point Fermin, but ships approaching from the north can only see that light when four miles away because Point Vicente obstructs the view. Point Fermin is 62 miles from Point Hueneme, and originally the only aid to navigation was a combination gas and whistling buoy. Ship's masters who sailed this dangerous stretch of shoreline petitioned for a light to aid navigation. The planned opening of the Panama Canal in 1914 promised to dramatically increase the number of ships that would benefit by a light on Point Vicente. Project funds were first requested in 1912 when the Bureau of Lighthouses expressed the need for a lighthouse at Point Vicente. Despite the point’s prominence, funding for a lighthouse to mark this turning point into the harbors of San Pedro and Long Beach was not approved until 1916, when Congress appropriated $80,000 for a light and fog signal. Delays in acquiring the twelve-acre parcel of desired land postponed construction until 1922.
Frank A. Vanderlip purchased the Palos Verdes Peninsula in 1913. His plan was to build an artisans’ village atop Point Vicente, modeled after the Italian seaside village of Neri. Therefore, he was reluctant to relinquish the property. A United States district attorney prepared data for a condemnation suit for the parcel. The proceedings were set to begin on March 19, 1918, but the suit was postponed pending further negotiations with the landowner. The Department of Justice was requested to reopen condemnation proceedings in late 1919, and this action likely led to Vanderlip making a satisfactory offer to the government. An abstract of title to the property was obtained by January 1921, and the Lighthouse Service Bulletin announced the following October that a clear title had finally been obtained. The high cost of materials and labor further delayed the project until 1924.
By that time, gone were the days of oil lamps and weight-driven clockworks. Instead, a 500-watt bulb was used inside the lighthouse’s third order clamshell Fresnel lens, and an electric motor was used to rotate the giant lighting apparatus atop sixteen ball bearings. Barbier, Benard and Turenne, the oldest lens making company in the world, manufactured the lens in Paris, France. Although a popular story says the lens were transferred from a light station in Alaska it is more likely that the lens came directly from France, as stated in a newspaper article published just weeks before Point Vicente Lighthouse was activated. It remains 185 feet atop the structure. The last light keeper left in 1971 when it was automated. It was listed on the National Registry of Historic Sites in 1979.
A Fresnel lens (/ˈfreɪn-, ˈfrɛn.ɛl, -əl/ FRAYN-, FREN-el, -əl, /freɪˈnɛl/ fray-NEL or /ˈfrɛznəl/ FREZ-nəl) is a type of composite compact lens originally developed by French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel for lighthouses. It has been called "the invention that saved a million ships." The design allows the construction of lenses of large aperture and short focal length without the mass and volume of material that would be required by a lens of conventional design. A Fresnel lens can capture more oblique light from a light source, thus allowing the light from a lighthouse equipped with one to be visible over greater distances.
So big and bright in fact that the light was dimmed during World War II, to keep Japanese submarines from finding land. Even after the war, neighboring residents complained about the brightness of the light. To avoid any issues with the neighbors, light keepers painted the landward side of the lantern room a pearly opaque white.
When the light is rotated around through the painted windows, reports came in that a woman could be seen walking in the tower—slowly pacing while wearing what appeared to be a long, thin gown. The spooky vision became well-known in the area and often made news in the local newspapers. Most believed her to be nothing more than an optical illusion, so a thicker coat of paint was applied in 1955.
Immediately afterwards, hikers and scuba divers began to report sightings of the same woman walking along the cliffs near the tower. It was believed that she had fallen accidentally to her death as her husband kept the lighthouse in running order. Another legend has it that she threw herself off the cliffs after being rejected by her lover. Even another tale has the Lady of the Light waiting for her husband who was lost at sea, forever watching for his ship and aided by the incredibly powerful beam’s reach.
Realists side with the technical explanation. The shadowy images that look like a woman are just reflections from the third order Fresnel lens atop the 67-foot tower. Romantics know why the Lady of the Light walks along the cliff looking for a lost love.
Sources: Point Vicente Light, Wikipedia; Pt. Vicente Lighthouse Loses Fabled Ghost,” Independent, March 10, 1962; Terranea Life, Chris Ridges
Russell Caterson - Long Time Palos Verdes Resident
