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LIGHTHOUSES ARE OFTEN one of a coastal city's more important landmarks, but as lighting technology has advanced, more and more are being torn down. As a bustling coastal city with many ships entering its waters, San Diego has boasted three lighthouses throughout its history.
In 1890, ironwork arrived by train for the building of the lighthouse that would replace the 1939 Cape Cod style structure that is found atop Cabrillo National Monument today. The New Point Loma Lighthouse, situated lower on the cliffs near the shoreline, operated from this time through the 1970s when its demise began as a person was no longer needed to attend the light. Years of neglect combined with sea spray and wind led to a rusted shell of what the structure once was, removal of the prismatic light lens, and the fate of the lighthouse unknown.
However, hope came for saving the structure when the Point Loma Lighthouse was selected from a group of roughly 700 other lighthouses by the U.S. Coast Guard Finance Office out of Oakland, California, for a major restoration. A local, independent contractor was chosen to take on the task, unknowingly jumping into a project that would take nearly four times as long and cost much more, but he was up to the challenge.
Slowly and painstakingly, the contractor and his team deconstructed the lighthouse piece by piece, blasted away rust and old paint, sent out almost all the original iron castings for refabricating, and then slowly reassembled the tower to its original form. Historians Kim Fahlen and Karen Scanlon recorded the entire restoration process as well. The end result is an almost new looking, structurally sound, and fully operational lighthouse shining bright for all to see.
For an absolutely outstanding project and for going to immeasurable lengths, SOHO applauds Neil Gardis of 'Ohana Industries, Ltd., along with team members Ryan Strack, Nickolas Bliler, and Kevin Goodman for the high award of Preservation Project of the Year.
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