San Deigo Historic Site 51 OLD POINT LOMA LIGHTHOUSE

On the top of the outer end of Point Loma the Cabrillo National Monument is located.It receives more visitors than any other national monument, including the Statue of Liberty. The central feature, the lighthouse, was erected by the United States Government in 1854-55. Five hundred ten feet above the sea, the light was the highest in the world, and remained the loftiest in the United States until 1891, when it was discontinued in favor of a new, lower light. This was necessary because ithad been so high it could not be seen by incoming vessels in foggy weather or when low clouds obscured it. Why this is called "The Old Spanish Lighthouse" is problematical.

Some of the tiles in the basement floor were from the ruins of the old Spanish fort onBallast Point, and the families of some of the keepers were Spanish-speaking, but it seems likely that a Negro called Reuben the Guide was the source of the "Spanish" name.Around the turn of the century he led parties of tourists around the interestingsites of the area; long-time San Diegans do not recall having heard of the old lighthouse being called "Spanish" before Reuben started telling people about it.The original lenses, ground in Paris well over a century ago, are still giving thebest of service, at a station on the Great Lakes, and are a tribute, like thebuilding, to the craftsmanship of the age.

Charles Dudley Warner, the well-known author, described the view from the oldlighthouse. He said, "This site commands one of the most remarkable views inthe accessible civilized world, one of the three or four really greatprospects which the traveller can recall . . ." This is also a National Historic Landmark.