805 W Paseo Del Mar
San Pedro, CA 90731, USA

Point Fermin Lighthouse - National Register of Historic Places

Statement of Significance

Point Fermin Lighthouse was the first substantial aid to navigation established ,at ,San Pedro, and what has subsequently become Los Angeles Harbor.

Of the several wooden lighthouses established in the 1870’s between San Francisco and San Diego, this handsome structure remains as the sole example.

By 1871 sea traffic had increased to the point where guidance was needed by vessels entering Los Angeles Harbor. This brought about construction of the Light which was first operated on December 15, 187b. Off the precipitous cliffs upon which the lighthouse stands, some 35 ships have been lost, mostly due to dense fog. One of these, the British ship Respigadera struck a rock and sank within 20 minutes when it cut too close to the Point in 1888. Among other ships lost were the David C. Meyer and the Prentiss, both lumber schooners.

d C. Meyer and the Prentiss, both lumber schooners. In 1925 the Light's oil lamps were replaced by a powerful electric light which reached 18 miles out to sea. This continued to function until 19b2 when war was declared between the axis power and the United States.

At that time the Coast Guard, for security purposes, turned the light off and painted the gleaming white building "wartime green". Its wartime service added further luster, however, by its conversion to a radar lookout station—first of its kind in the harbor area. As an added point of interest this activity was cloaked in secrecy, radar not having been proven thoroughly reliable when the facility was installed.

After the war the light remained off—maritime security having been enhanced and proven by radar sentry and signaling devices, as well as by Light stations at Point Vincent and Los Angeles Harbor.

With construction of a more elaborate radar installation on the crown of the hill behind the old Point Fermin Lighthouse, the structure fell into disuse, finally becoming a feature of a San Pedro City, Park, where from its vantage point, it affords a magnificent panoramic view of the Pacific Ocean.