National Park Service Approves Acquisition of Pigeon Point Light Station by State Parks and POST
March 22, 2004
The Peninsula Open Space Trust (POST) and California State Parks received word today that the National Park Service accepted their joint application to acquire the 130-year-old Pigeon Point Light Station from the U.S. Coast Guard.
The partnership will ensure that one of the most picturesque and historically significant lighthouses on the West Coast will remain in public ownership. State Parks will own the lighthouse and continue to manage it for public enjoyment.
"Californians are fortunate that POST and State Parks led the charge to protect this historic landmark for people now and in the future," said Senator Dianne Feinstein, D - Calif. "The success of this partnership creates an opportunity for our residents and visitors from around the world to continue to enjoy the magnificent Pigeon Point Light Station."
"I am so pleased that POST and State Parks will jointly protect this jewel of the Coastside for generations to come," said State Senator Byron Sher, D-Stanford.
The lighthouse is located just south of the town of Pescadero, and 6 miles north of the Año Nuevo State Reserve.
The giveaway of the Pigeon Point Light Station and dozens of other lighthouses across the nation is part of the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000. The act authorizes the U.S. Coast Guard to give lighthouses it no longer needs for its operations to a nonprofit or public agency with the resources to manage and maintain them for public enjoyment. In the event that no public owner can be found, they can be sold to private buyers.
State Parks, along with interested organizations such as the State Parks Foundation, the California Coastal Conservancy and POST, will help to raise funds for repairs to the lighthouse tower that are estimated to cost up to $3 million. The 115-foot tower – the tallest on the West Coast – was closed to the public in 2002 after two large pieces of brick and metal fell to the ground. These and other extensive repairs are needed to return the lighthouse to a condition safe for public use.
"We look forward to working with State Parks and others to restore the lighthouse to its historic glory so that the public will once again be able to enjoy the magnificent view of the coastline and ocean from the tower," said POST President Audrey Rust. "The preservation and restoration of this landmark symbolizes our work to give permanent protection to the San Mateo Coast."
POST has a long-standing interest in the preservation of the spectacular open lands in southern San Mateo County. POST's land-saving work has ensured the area's historic landscape remains much the same as it did when the lighthouse was constructed in 1873.