Fort Point Lighthouse: Fort Point Tour

Looking up at the Fort Point Lighthouse today with bridge ironwork above.

Starting in 1852, the United States government went lighthouse-crazy, funding the construction of 59 lighthouses along the California coast. At this early date, the Fort Point light was one of 13 serving the San Francisco Bay.

The original light was built and destroyed in 1853. Army engineers blew up the bluff it stood on to make way for the construction of Fort Point. A second lighthouse, built near the water in 1855, was removed to permit seawall construction. In the end, it was the third lighthouse, designed by Brevet Lieutenant Colonel Robert S. Williamson, that did the trick. Construction was completed on top of the fort in 1864. This final installment can still be seen today. Rated as a fifth order Fresnel light, it could be seen 10-12 miles at sea.

Through the years at Fort Point, the lighthouse keepers lived and served at the fort with their families alongside the soldiers stationed there. The light remained in operation until 1934, when the US Lighthouse Service keepers extinguished the Fort Point light for the last time in order to begin construction of the Golden Gate Bridge.