Old Point Loma Lighthouse, photo by Jeremy D'Entremont.

Congress authorized lighthouses at several California locations in 1850, including San Diego. Construction began in 1854 on a lighthouse on a high bluff at the end of Point Loma, more than 400 feet above the sea. The lighthouse began service in November 1855. Its active life was fairly short, as it turned out. The great height of the light station was a handicap when low clouds and fog surrounded the bluff, so a new lighthouse was built on the low tip of the peninsula. Darkened for good on March 23, 1891, the original lighthouse ultimately became known as the Old Point Loma Lighthouse.

Fresnel lens display at the Cabrillo National Monument, photo by Jeremy D'Entremont.

Old Point Loma Lighthouse is now a popular attraction within the National Park Service’s Cabrillo National Monument. There are three guests in this episode. Amanda Gossard is program manager for the Cabrillo National Monument. Karen Scanlon and Kim Fahlen are longtime volunteers for the Cabrillo National Monument, and they’re also the co-authors of the book Lighthouses of San Diego. Kim and Karen also happen to be identical twin sisters. Jen Lewis of Point Cabrillo Lighthouse in northern California cohosts this episode.

The 1891 Point Loma Light Station. Photo by Jeremy D'Entremont.