Major repairs on long-neglected landmark to begin next year
Pigeon Point Lighthouse shines its light as a full moon sets off the San Mateo coast, Sunday, Nov. 29, 2020.The 115-foot-tall brick structure south of Half Moon Bay has finally been awarded full funding to complete an $18.9 million restoration. Pigeon Point Lighthouse, a venerable landmark that has stood dramatically over the San Mateo County coast for 150 years but fallen badly into disrepair over the past two decades, appears finally to be headed for a major restoration.
But in 2001 the building was padlocked after large chunks of its black cast-iron bracing, each weighing about 300 pounds, plunged to the ground. Today, the aging lighthouse, owned by California’s State Parks department, is surrounded by chain-link fence, its masonry cracked and its white sides streaked with rust. Every day, disappointed visitors ask rangers why they can’t go inside, or how they can help restore the landmark to its former glory.
Wheeler said the lighthouse is one of only about eight built in 1871 that are still standing in the United States, with a similar design to other classic lighthouses, like the one at Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. With the once-proud landmark becoming an eyesore, state lawmakers finally approved $9.1 million for the job in 2019. The original plan was to remove the top one-third of the tower, along with its upper decking and roof, repair them, and then come back later for a second job when more funding was available to rebuild the brickwork, replace windows and other renovations on the bottom of the tower.
This is the third major historic lighthouse restoration project in the past two years in Northern California. In November 2019 crews finished a $5.7 million upgrade to the lighthouse at Point Reyes National Seashore in Marin County. In May, State Sen. John Laird, D-Santa Cruz, secured $4.5 million to rebuild two bridges to restore public access to the Point Sur Light Station in Big Sur.
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