Point Pinos Lighthouse a Pacific Grove staple

Nowadays, people want the newest and coolest gadgets around. If your phone is over 2 years old, some might call it ancient. In Pacific Grove, that same thought process is overlooked for one historic landmark…one that is still running after a century and a half. Here’s a look at the Point Pinos Lighthouse.

“We think it’s very special that we are now the oldest on the west coast,” said Lighthouse Docent Coordinator Nancy McDowell.

First fired up in 1855, the Point Pinos Lighthouse has run non-stop for 161 years.

“It’s the oldest continuously-operating lighthouse on the west coast of the United States,” said Pacific Grove Mayor Bill Kampe.

So old, it was built before Pacific Grove was even a city.

“On the original information, it said that Point Pinos was in Monterey,” said McDowell.

It still serves the same purpose, but for a very different crowd.

“The heritage is really used by the Spaniards who used this as a weigh station for returning galleons coming back from Asia,” said Kampe.

Today’s sailors use technology like gps and radar, but that doesn’t mean it always works.

“Even the ones who have gps say oh we’re coming down the coast, we don’t know if the gps is right, but then we saw the lighthouse and sort of relaxed and could enjoy the rest of their voyage,” laughed McDowell.

That’s not all that’s changed. It now uses electricity instead of kerosense or whale blubber, the site is no longer surrounded by military barracks, and at night, no one’s home!

“It’s not a manned-station, it runs on it’s own. There’s electronic control for the light,” said Kampe.

But one major thing never changed.

“We are using our same Frannell lens, and it’s been the same one that we’ve been using for 161 years,” said McDowell.

Though it’s now surrounded by a golf course and not far from some modern shops, this little piece of history plays a big role in what makes PG stand out.

“It is part of what defines Pacific Grove,” said Kampe.