Life As A Cabrillo's Lighthouse Keeper In Old Point Loma, San Diego!

It is a reminder of different times: of sailing ships and oil lamps and the men and women who tended these isolated coastal lights. It was a demanding job. A dedicated keeper was on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with no vacation. In 1851 U.S. Coastal Survey selected this headland as the site for a navigational aid. The crest stood 422 feet above sea level and overlooked the bay and ocean. At the time it seemed like the ideal location.

Kasia kissing Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo, the first European who set foot on the west coast of what is now  the United States. His expedition brought Spain's first great era of exploration to a close.

Builders completed the lighthouse in 1854, and in 1855 installed a Fresnel lens, the best technology of that day. At dusk, November 15, 1855, keeper James P. Keating lit the oil lamp for the first time. For the next 36 years, except on foggy nights, the light welcomed sailors to San Diego harbor.