CABRILLO The Old Point Loma Lighthouse Symbol of the Pacific Coast's first Lighthouses

In 1854 a contractor's crew from the eastern United States came to San Diego to build the port's first lighthouse. They worked hard and built well, for the brick and sandstone structure they erected survived the onslaught of storms, earthquake, neglect, and vandalism, and today still stands, with most of its original material intact.

For 36 years this 19th century lighthouse, resting near the end of a long, high peninsula called Point Loma, guided ships along the coast of California and into San Diego Harbor. But the real story of this Cape Cod structure is not that of a lighthouse faithfully performing its task; all lighthouses do that. The real significance of the old structure is in its creation. The lighthouse was one of the first of eight lighthouses built on the United States' Pacific Coast. Since all eight were built by one firm under one contract, the old building stands today as a symbol of the nation's first successful effort to obtain navigational aids for the newly acquired west coast.

Deepening the interest and importance of the old building are the circumstances under which the construction of the eight lighthouses occurred. Fundamental changes were taking place relative to this country's aids to navigation. In essence, the United States' lighthouses and the Lighthouse Service were being modernized in the 1850's, and many of the problems of modernization were reflected in the establishing of the Pacific Coast's first lighthouses.