National Register of Historic Places

Point Fermin Lighthouse

San Pedro, Los Angeles County, California
Listed
June 12, 1972
Type
Building
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
72000234

About this property

Point Fermin Light is a lighthouse on Point Fermin in the San Pedro neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. The lighthouse was built in 1874 with lumber from California redwoods. It was designed by Paul J. Pelz who also designed Point Fermin's sister stations, East Brother Island Light in Richmond, California, Mare Island Light, in Carquinez Strait, California (demolished in the 1930s), Point Hueneme Light in California (replaced in 1940), Hereford Inlet Light in North Wildwood, New Jersey, and Point Adams Light in Washington State (burned down by the Lighthouse Service in 1912), all in essentially the same style. In 1941, the light was extinguished due to the bombing of Pearl Harbor. There was fear that the light would serve as a beacon for enemy planes and ships. The original fourth order Fresnel lens was removed in 1942. The lighthouse was saved from demolition in 1972 and added to the National Register of Historic Places. The light fell into disuse and disrepair and the lantern room and gallery were removed. The site was refurbished in 1974 including a new lantern room and gallery were built by local preservationists in 1974. A wood replica lantern was also installed. The original Fresnel lens from the lighthouse, removed in the 1940s, had been missing for decades. After being found and positively identified, on November 13, 2006, the lens was relocated to a display in the restored lighthouse museum from the real estate office of Louis Busch in Malibu, California, where it had been on display. In June 2011, the General Services Administration made the Point Fermin Light (along with 11 others) available at no cost to public organizations willing to preserve them. The restored site was open to the public as the Point Fermin Lighthouse Historic Site and Museum. The Point Fermin lighthouse has featured as a filming location in several television series productions. From 1977 to 1978, in four television films and the television series of Man from Atlantis, the lighthouse was used to represent the fictional 'The Foundation for Oceanic Research' headquarters building for the TV series. In 1979, Point Fermin and the lighthouse featured in the first-season episode of the television series Hart to Hart, in "Hit Jennifer Hart". In 1986, the lighthouse appeared in a second-season episode of Amazing Stories, in "Magic Saturday". In 1988, the lighthouse was featured in the fifth-season episode of Murder, She Wrote, in 'Mr. Penroy's Vacation'. The lighthouse also featured in two episodes of MacGyver: "Flames End" and "D.O.A.: MacGyver". In 1999, the lighthouse was featured as the Griffin residence in Duwayne Dunham's 1999 made-for-television film The Thirteenth Year.

Location

805 Paseo Del Mar
San Pedro, Los Angeles County, California
33.70534, -118.29366

Categories

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Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Battery John Barlow and Saxton
Civil War
0.8 mi
Battery Osgood-Farley
Civil War
0.9 mi
American Trona Corporation Building
Industrial
0.9 mi
LANE VICTORY
Industrial
1.5 mi
Municipal Warehouse No. 1
Industrial
1.6 mi

Nearby Battles

Drum Barracks – Los Angeles Union Garrison
1862Civil War
6.4 mi
Battle of Dominguez Rancho
1846Mexican-American War
11.1 mi

Questions about this property

When was Point Fermin Lighthouse listed on the National Register?

Point Fermin Lighthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 12, 1972.

What type of historic resource is Point Fermin Lighthouse?

Point Fermin Lighthouse is classified as a building in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Point Fermin Lighthouse?

The period of significance for Point Fermin Lighthouse is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Point Fermin Lighthouse?

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