Lighthouses–West Coast

Located on the Washington side of the Columbia River where it meets the Pacific Ocean, Cape Disappointment Lighthouse stands 53 feet tall and is the first lighthouse built in the Pacific Northwest (1856). It is a fixed light so no rewinding is necessary, but the keepers still had to haul 170 pounds of oil up … Continue reading »

Located 20 miles south of the mouth of the Columbia River and 1 1/2 miles offshore lies Tillamook Rock Lighthouse. It was built in 1881 and, at that time, was the most expensive lighthouse ever built – $3,000,000 in today’s dollars. Construction began by blasting off 4600 cubic yards of rock in order to make … Continue reading »

St George Reef Lighthouse is located six miles off the California/Oregon coast, 144 feet above the Pacific Ocean. Construction began in 1882 but was not completed until 1892 . The cost was the staggering sum of 19.8 million in today’s dollars – twice the cost of any lighthouse ever built! Each of the 1,339 stones … Continue reading »

Pt Loma Lighthouse is located at the mouth of San Diego Bay. In contrast to the previous two entries, Pt Loma was built and opened in the same year (1855)  and cost only thirty thousand in today’s dollars. It sits atop a  400-foot cliff and was the highest lighthouse in the country. That also was … Continue reading »