Point Fermin Lighthouse

This treasure is located in the same area where I found A face within my roots. Those trees are on the grounds of Point Fermin Lighthouse just a few yards away. The lighthouse is a museum now and was closed at the time I took this photo. The entire frontage was not accessible to visitors due to ongoing restorations. I decided to post the side view of it to share this wonderful old lighthouse with all of you. Most people never see that side in a photo. It took what seemed like an eternity for me to edit the problem areas within the original photo using Photoshop 5.5 for all the work.

I AM PLEASED WITH THE RESULTS AND INVITE YOU TO LOOK AT MY ORIGINAL PHOTO sta.sh/0zk8l8ty1wi TO COMPARE THE TWO.  

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BELOW ARE EXCERPTS OF THE LIGHTHOUSE'S HISTORY FROM THE POINT FERMIN LIGHTHOUSE ORGANIZATION. PLEASE VISIT THE SITE FOR MORE INFORMATION www.pointferminlighthouse.org/

Lighthouse Architecture.

The Point Fermin Lighthouse is designed in the Stick Style. Andrew Jackson Downing, publisher of pattern books in the 1860”s and 1870’s, promoted the Stick Style for its “truthfulness “ in wooden construction. Unlike true half-timbering, the visible wood members were applied ornamentation and did not have a structural function. The Stick Style stressed the wall surface itself as a decorative element rather than as a surface to which decorative detailing was added. Virginia and Lee Mc Alester in A Field guide to American Houses note that the Stick Style is a transitional style which links the preceding Gothic Revival with the subsequent Queen Anne: all three styles are free adaptations of Medieval English building traditions “ According to the Mc Alesters, the Queen Anne movement was more influential and widespread than the Stick Style. The features that identify the lighthouse as Stick Style include its gabled roofs, decorative trusses in the apex of the gables., horizontal and wooden wall sheathing, overhanging eaves with exposed rafter ends and brackets, and porch and balcony with their diagonal and crisscrossing brackets.

Architect

Paul J Pelz a draftsman for the U.S Lighthouse Board , designed the Stick Style Victorian lighthouse. The design was used for six lighthouses built between 1873 and 1884, of which three are still standing. East Brothers in San Francisco Bay, Hereford Light in New Jersey, and Point Fermin. The drawings were signed by George H Elliot. Major of Engineers U.S.A.

History

Built in 1874 with lumber from California redwoods and a Fresnel Lens brought around Cape Horn by sailing ships. For its time, this Victorian light house was a palatial structure, crowned with a cupola fitted with a 2,100 candle power light. Miss Mary L Smith, the first, lighthouse keeper lived with her sister but they gave up the lonely o occupation because there were no other settlers neared than Wilmington. In the 1880,s when Captain George Shaw was keeper, the lighthouse was the scene of many parties.

In 1898, a petroleum vapor incandescent lamp was installed: then, in 1925, a new 6.600 candlepower electric light which projected a beam 22 miles out to sea. Because it did not have a fog-signaling apparatus, it was a one-keeper station until 1941 when all costal lights were extinguished as protection against enemy attacks. The lens lantern and gallery were replaced by an ugly lookout shack which remained for the next thirty years.

After the war, the light remained off, and radar and direction finders took over sentry and signaling duties. The structure fell into disuse and disrepair until a new lantern and gallery were built by volunteers, restoring it to its original charm must in time for a centennial celebration in 1974. Today Point Fermin Lighthouse is one of San Pedro’s most recognized landmarks and was used for the San Pedro Centennial logo.

This graceful Victorian –style building surrounded by colorful flower gardens, is one of the oldest lighthouses on the West Coast. It served as an aid to safe passage between the Channel Islands and into the harbor for nearly one hundred years.