Point
Cabrillo Lighthouse
Located
3 miles north of Mendocino the Point Cabrillo Light Station
was built as an aid to navigation along the sometimes treachorous
Mendocino Coast of California. Construction of the Point Cabrillo
Light Station was begun in 1908 and the lense was illuminated
for the first time on June 10, 1909. The lens is a British built
Fresnel lens by Chance Bros. that has a range of 13 to 15 miles.
The lense rotated at a fix speed and produces a flash at 10
second intervals.
Originally
operated by the U.S. Lighthouse Service the Point Cabrillo Light
Station was turned over to the Coast Guard in 1939. The Coast
Guard operated the light house until 1973 when the Fresnal lense
was disengaged and replaced by a rotating beacon mounted on
the roof of the fog signal building.
In 1996
the Coastal Conservancy was awarded a grant to restore the the
lantern room and in 1999 the restoration was completed and the
Fresnel lens was once again an active aid to navigation along
the Northern California Coast.
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