San Luis Obispo Light Station, Avila Beach California

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The San Luis Obispo Lighthouse and Fog-Signal was established to assist and promote coastal trading and navigation. It also served as an entrance to San Luis Obispo Harbor and to Port Harford (now known as Port San Luis). By the mid-1880's Port Harford had become one of the most active ports between San Francisco and San Diego. There were no lighthouses on the south-central coast between Point Arguello and Piedras Blancas, a distance of 94 miles. The sinking of the ocean steamer Queen of the Pacific on April 30, 1888, added to the justification for a light at Port Harford. In 1888 the federal government appropriated $50,000 for the 30 acre site, but the station was not completed until June 30^th, 1890.

The lighthouse tower is the principal element of the lighthouse complex. It is attached to the southwest corner to the Keeper's dwelling. Seven such wood-frame tower/Keeper's quarters structures were constructed in California between 1874 and 1892. Four were built in the more elaborate Stick-Eastlake style and three, including San Luis Obispo, were built in the more simplified pure "stick" style. Only three of the structures survive today and San Luis Obispo is the only survivor of the pure stick style. Similar structures were built in other areas of the United States. These structures always contained a smaller order Fresnel Lens (in this case a 4^th Order) and usually were used to mark the entrance to harbors.

The fog-signal building is very similar in design to the standard fog-signal buildings built in California in the late 19^th century and early 20^th century. Most had one large center chamber (the boiler room) with two small rooms off to each side. Double doors were always located on the front facade and often on the rear side as well (as in San Luis Obispo). The exteriors were usually unadorned, reflecting their utilitarian use. In this particular building, however, the brackets under the gable ends are very prominent and ornate, exactly duplicating the bracket treatment of the nearby Keeper's quarters. This nicely unifies the elements of the light station into a stylistic whole not found in most light stations. The fog-signal building in San Luis Obispo is in very good condition. Some mechanical equipment from an earlier fog-signal system (probably not the original) remains in the fog-signal building.

The oil house building is structurally and functionally similar to other oil house buildings in the late 19th/early 20^th century, but its design is unusual in the following ways:
1. It is made of brick and not concrete.
2. It has a peaked roof similar to comparable structures in the East (California's oil house roofs were generally flat).
3. Its elaborate brackets (and peaked roof) tie it into the design of the station as a whole, rare for such a utilitarian structure such as an oil house.

Site Description

The San Luis Obispo Light Station is located on a hillside ridge near the point of land that marks the entrance to San Luis Obispo Harbor. It is a relatively intact station comprised of 7 detached buildings and 3 structures. The station stands as an excellent example of a late Victorian lighthouse complex done in the wood-frame "stick" style. All of the original 1890 buildings are grouped together on one portion of the site. The modern Assistant Keepers' duplexes are located to the east of the older unit. Except for the remodeled carpenter shop, the architectural integrity of the original buildings' exteriors is generally excellent. The station once contained a barn, landing wharf, and Victorian duplex, all since destroyed. Mature Cypress Trees, originally part of trimmed hedges, give unity and a picturesque quality to the site.

A 40-foot tall, square lighthouse tower attached to the southwest corner of a 2 story, wood-frame, Keeper's quarters. Both structures rest on a raised basement of brick (with concrete repairs). The plan of the structure is irregular with covered porches found on the north, east and south facades. A gabled, wood-shake roof caps the Keeper's residence while wood-shake shed roofs cover the exterior porches. The lighthouse tower is topped with an 8-panel, glass, and iron lens room, which in turn is capped with a cast iron, segmented conical roof. A prominent wooden balustrade balcony surrounds the lower portion of the lens room. Vertical board-and-batten siding covers the tower structure, while horizontal clapboards cover the residence. The architectural integrity of the structure is largely intact with the only exterior modification being the rear laundry room addition, probably constructed not too many years after the station was built. A modern kitchen and bathroom have been constructed in the interior. The original 4^th Order Fresnel Lens has been relocated to the San Luis Obispo County Historical Museum. The structural condition of the building is very good, although the interior would need some attention if a use was ever to be made of the building. It is presently unoccupied.

The lighthouse Keeper's quarters represents a fine example of a late Victorian lighthouse structure done in the wood-frame "stick" style. Between 1874 and 1892 a total of seven similar wood-frame Victorian lighthouses were built in California. Each had a characteristic square tower arising above (and attached to) the adjacent Keeper's dwelling. Four were built with elaborate "Stick-Eastlake" ornamentation. Three were built in a more simplified pure "Stick" style. Today, only two of the Stick-Eastlake lighthouses remain and San Luis Obispo is the only survivor of the original purely Stick structures.

The Fog Signal Building, built in 1892, is a one-and-one-half story, rectangular, wood-frame building with one story, rectangular wings flanking both ends. The center chamber (boiler room) housed the mechanical equipment for the fog-signal; the two wings contained the watch room and tack room, respectively. The center section and wings each have peaked gable roofs covered in red-stain wood shingles. The exterior of the entire building is covered with horizontal clapboards and is unadorned except for prominent arched brackets under each gable end. The interior of the center chamber is of open-beam, exposed truss construction. A raised wooden platform, formerly supporting the fog horns, is built into the exposed beams of the upper level. Vertical tongue-and-groove paneling, painted white, is found throughout the interior of the structure. The north and south facades are identical; each contains a central set of double doors flanked by four windows. A set of paired windows in the upper level is located directly above each double door. Except for the brackets under the gable ends, the east and west facades are featureless. The foundation is concrete. The flooring in the central chamber is concrete slab. In the two side rooms, the flooring is wood-base covered with tile. Some mechanical equipment of the fog-signal system remains in place on the floor of the center chamber.

The light station building is identical or very similar to the standard light station buildings built in California in the late 19th/early 20^th century. Most had one large center chamber with two small rooms off to each side. Double doors were always located on the front facade and often--as is the case in San Luis Obispo--on the rear as well. The exteriors were usually unadorned, reflecting their utilitarian function. In this case, the wooden brackets under the gable ends are more elaborate than in most stations. This probably reflects an effort to match the "stick" style brackets of the nearby tower/ Keeper's residence--both built in the same year. The building is in very good condition and its integrity is generally whole.

The Oil House, built in 1890, is a one story, 8' X 10'6", brick building with an iron door formerly used to store oil. It is similar to the other California oil houses in that it is small, rectangular, is built of non-combustible material, and is located apart from other structures (in this case approximately 50 yards from the tower/Keeper's residence). It is different than most oil houses, however, in that it is built of brick and not concrete, it has a peaked metal roof similar to oil houses in the East (California's are usually flat), and its decorative brackets give it a certain style not found in the usual strictly utilitarian oil houses. An attempt appears to have been made to visually tie the oil house into the stick Victorian design of the entire complex.

The Privy is a one story, wood-frame, peaked roof privy located behind Assistant Keeper's quarters. This building dates from the construction of the station.

A 120' X 120' hillside concrete catch basin is located behind the Keeper's residence. Two cisterns are located between the Keeper's quarters and the Assistant Keeper's quarters.

Two duplexes for Assistant Keepers were constructed in 1961 replacing the Victorian Assistant Keeper's residence on the same site.

The Carpenter's Shop building dates back to the original station, however it has been remodeled so extensively over the years to house navigational equipment, that very little remains of its original fabric.