By Kevin Smith, Staff Writer
The lighthouse still dominates the landscape at Pigeon Point, but it’s in need of repair. A worker at the hostel said the upper brickwork eventually began bulging under the weight of the heavy Fresnel lens that had long served as its beacon.
So the one-ton lens — standing 16 feet tall and 6 feet in diameter — was carefully disassembled and brought down via a zip line. It’s currently on display in the Fog Signal Building, where it’s been housed since 2011.
Pigeon Point is still an active U.S. Coast Guard aid to navigation, but it now operates with a 24-inch aero beacon.
The restoration project will cost an estimated $10 million, and I’m told they’ve already raised about half of that. So hopefully the lighthouse will be fully operational and open for tours in the not-so-distant future.
So I’ve told you about the accommodations, the grounds and the restoration project.
But I didn’t talk about the intangibles — the feeling you get when you’re out on the point with the waves crashing against the rocks. Or the night stars that are so clear and bright it feels like you could pull them right out of the sky. Or the way all of this makes you feel so small … and yet so connected to everything.
No, I’ll leave that part up to you. And yes, there is something mystical about lighthouses.