Forget your standard white-washed cone. This lighthouse looks like a small castle. Built in the Beaux-Arts style, the 1912 Huntington Harbor Light is a square, reinforced concrete tower. To get it into position, the builders constructed the foundation on land, floated it out to the bay, and sank it into place.
The light was first established on this site in 1857, though that original version was of little help to ships trying to enter the actual harbor. The current structure took over the shift in 1912, sporting a fifth order Fresnel lens. It served as a manned post for the Lighthouse Service until 1939, at which point the Coast Guard took over.
In 1949, the light was automated. The deterioration of the unoccupied lighthouse started and would continue for almost two decades. By 1983, a survey deemed the light unsafe for servicing personnel and too expensive to repair. The Coast Guard considered demolishing the lighthouse and erecting a steel tower.
Local citizens decided they didn't like that plan. In 1985, they formed a group to stop the demolition. They didn't just win the argument; they became the first private group in the country to take over and restore an offshore lighthouse. They still run the show today as the Huntington Lighthouse Preservation Society.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Kyle McLonely
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