California - Point Bonita Lighthouse

Point Bonita Lighthouse is located North of San Francisco, CA.  The original tower and keeper's dwelling, built in 1855, was perched on a ledge approximately 300 feet above the ocean.  The light could be seen from up to 20 miles out to sea, unless heavy fog obscured the beam, as it often did.  Almost daily the keepers had to sound the fog signal by firing a cannon mounted outside the tower.  Later a 1,500 pound bell replaced the cannon, but the fog and low clouds around the tower remained a problem.
This new light station was built at a lower elevation, approximately 100 feet above the ocean.  The 33 foot tower, as well as the building that housed two steam driven fog signals, the keepers dwelling and the storage buildings.  The lens from the original lighthouse was moved to the new tower and the new Point Bonita Lighthouse lamp was lit in February 1877.
The new tower survived the April 1906 earthquake that devastated nearby San Francisco, but the keeper's dwelling collapsed after the family escaped.
The U.S. Coast Guard automated the light in the early 1980's and continues to maintain it. However, the National Park Service maintains the grounds, and the lighthouse was open to the public during my visit in 1999.