Unique construction key to Landmark status*
by Jeff Gales    Special to the ICO

   The Point Arena Light Station may soon be recognized as a National Historical Landmark.  Sharon Secco of the Point Arena Lighthouse Keepers is spearheading the efforts to persuade the U.S. government to accord this special status to the lighthouse.

   In 1989, the Department of the Interior officially identified a number of buildings in Point Arena, including the Point Arena Light Station, as historic structures and included them in their National Register of Historic Places.  While this classification helps to prevent the destruction of the buildings so identified, it does not ensure their upkeep or restoration.

   National Historical Landmark status is a more specialized classification and requires that the structure be unique and nationally significant.  Additionally, for the Point Arena Lighthouse to be considered as a National Historic Landmark, the California State Office of Historic Preservation must support that designation.

   According to lighthouse manager Jeff Gales, Secco has successfully provided the appropriate empirical data about the Point Arena Lighthouse to the California State Office of Historic Preservation, persuading them to document, in an official letter, the importance of the Point Arena Lighthouse to our nation's history.

   This important letter cites the unique characteristic of the Point Arena Lighthouse which distinguishes it from all others in the nation: "The Point Arena Lighthouse was the first, poured in place, reinforced concrete lighthouse tower ever built in the United States, and became a model for subsequent lighthouses."

   The lighthouse on Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay is the most prominent local example of lighthouses built utilizing the poured in place, reinforced concrete technique, with other examples cited in the letter being those lighthouses located at Lloyd Harbor and Navassa Bay in the Caribbean.

   Being recognized as an official National Historical Landmark is more than an honorary status.  "This designation can open up additional opportunities to apply for important funding the lighthouse desperately needs to help preserve the facility," said Secco.

   "It is through the efforts of many dedicated people such as Sharon Secco that the Point Arena Light Station will be preserved for the education and enjoyment of many generations to come," Gales said.

   The Point Arena Lighthouse is a nonprofit, charitable organization dedicated to the preservation of the historic light station.  For more information, call (707) 882-2777.