Where We Live: Saving the Pigeon Point Lighthouse in Pescadero
The Pigeon Point Lighthouse has long kept a lonely vigil along the rugged coastline of San Mateo County, protecting ships from the fate that befell the clipper Carrier Pigeon, which capsized here in 1853.
But even as a century and a half of harsh elements ate away its bricks and iron and modern seafaring technology, rendering it a mere anachronism, preservation advocates and the California State Parks have joined together on a multi- year project to save the tallest lighthouse on the West Coast of the United States.
Photographs by staff photographer Karl Mondon
Like mountain goats atop the 115-foot tall lighthouse roof, Sam Cansdale, Mike Armstrong and J.P. Pelletier gently remove the gas vent ball on Sept. 5, 2024. Sam Cansdale suits up on Sept. 21, to strip paint from a gas vent ball removed from the top of the Pigeon Point Lighthouse. The brass fixture was once used to vent gas and smoke from the burning oil used to power the structure’s old beacon. The work is part of the California State Parks’ $16 million rehabilitation project to save the tallest lighthouse on the West Coast. Union mason Steve Espinosa uses lime putty mortar to repair the brick work inside the base of the 154-year-old Pigeon Point Lighthouse on Jan. 23, 2024. Rotted iron railing is cut away from the upper deck of the rusting structure by Steve Espinosa and Patrick Barry on Oct. 30, 2024. The gas vent ball that has topped the Pigeon Point Lighthouse for the past 154 years is craned back into place on Oct. 30, 2024. After being stripped and painted it was hoisted back into place as part of the California State Parks’ $16 million rehabilitation project to save the historic structure. Eight months after being obscured by scaffolding during a $16 million rehabilitation project, the Pigeon Point Lighthouse is uncovered on Jan. 27, 2025. After eight months hidden by construction scaffolding, the Pigeon Point Lighthouse is once again visible as the sun sets on Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2025. Some of the major work remaining up high near structure’s lantern room, where rusted iron will be replaced with marine-grade stainless steel, can be done without the need for exterior scaffolding.
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