Lighthouse in CA was Reported by its Keepers to be Haunted by a Woman in Flowing Gowns

Point Vicente Light, Rancho Palos Verdes California

Date added: October 14, 2024

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California
Lighthouse

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Point Vicente Light, built in 1926, is a classic lighthouse on the sea road to Los Angeles Harbor. Situated on a cliff, 185 feet above the sea, Vicente serves both as a landfall light and a guide to the harbor with its 1.1 million candle power beam and powerful foghorn.

From the time the lighthouse was established, the keepers complained of a strange apparition of a woman in flowing gowns walking about the exterior by nightfall, reputedly searching for her lover who had been lost in a shipwreck many years earlier. As a lighthouse so gentle on the eyes, one would never think it to have been bothered by wraiths, but it was. The ghost story, did however, have a happy ending. Though ghosts continue to haunt most lighthouses until their demise, the one at Vicente didn't have a chance to gather its usual length of rattling chains and eerie noises.

Most of the keepers had been willing to let the spirit be, until a younger assistant was assigned to the station. His inquiring mind motivated him to solve the mystery. A spoiler of sorts, he, after careful study and examination, came to the conclusion that the ghost was created by an unusual reflection of the light as it rotated. The structure of the lighthouse lens was such that it threw an arc in a reversed parenthesis causing the ghostly image to appear. The reflection when seen from a distance of 80 to 200 yards bore a remarkable resemblance to a lady in a long gown.

The young keeper was gratified with his findings but the older attendants refused to let such a simple explanation lay the wraith to rest. Even today, some claim that the ghostly lady still haunts the lighthouse, despite its automated status.

Manning of the U. S. Coast Guard Radio Station at Point Vicente was officially closed with a decommissioning ceremony on 1^st May 1980. The station has had primary responsibility for monitoring radio distress frequencies and relaying assistance calls to the Rescue Coordination Center in Long Beach.

Site Description

Point Vincente is a complex of buildings and associated facilities situated upon 17.79 acres of land located on the Palos Verde Peninsula in Los Angeles County.

The area surrounding the light station is bordered by Palos Verde Drive South on the northeast, the Pacific Ocean on both the west and southwest, and vacant land on the northern boundary to be developed into a park by the City of Rancho Palos Verde.

The terrain surrounding the station on the ocean side consists of perpendicular cliffs. Within the site itself, the terrain is primarily flat.

The complex contains several buildings including:

The Lighthouse - Located near the cliffs at the extreme northwesterly end of the site is, a plain white, circular, five-story, 68-foot high, reinforced concrete structure. The lighthouse is 13 feet in diameter at the point below the watchroom floor. The top is 15 feet 6 inches in diameter from rail to rail. There are five floors, the first three which have the same dimensions of 12 feet six inches in width, and 12 feet 10 1/2 inches in height. The fourth floor (watchroom) is 11 feet 4 inches in width and 9 feet 2 inches in height. The fifth floor, the light itself, is 9 feet 10 3/4 inches in width and 10 feet 2 inches in height. There are a total of 11 windows which are set into the building.

The light is encased in glass with steel framework holding the curved glass panel. The northern side of the glass is painted white. There is a steel door on the fifth floor leading outside to a walkway, and a steel chain encircling the walkway as an added safety measure. The lens of the light was made in Paris in 1914 and is a third-order Fresnel lens. The glass is ground into prisms and weighs in the area of 1200 pounds. It was sent from Paris to Alaska in 1914 and subsequently sent to Point Vicente in 1925. There is a 1000 watt bulb inside the light which emits a beam with an intensity of 1.1 million candle power. This light is electrically driven.

Within one hundred feet of the lighthouse are situated three associated facilities.

Radio Room - The structure adjacent to the lighthouse is the 16 X 24 foot radio room. The floor-plan consist of two rooms.

Fog Signal House - The largest of the three buildings is the 34 X 33 foot fog signal house. The floorplan consists of one large room. It should be noted that the fog signal has since been moved from the building to the tip of the point, and can be seen in front of the baffle wall.

Paint/Oil House - The paint/oil house is a 14 X 26 foot structure. The floorplan consists of two rooms which are now utilized for storage.

All three buildings were built in 1924, however, unlike the Power and Fog Light Houses, which are frame stucco, the smaller paint/oil house is constructed of reinforced concrete. All three buildings have Spanish red tile, peaked roofs, and glass pane windows.

Keeper's House - Located in the center of the complex, the keeper's house is one of three homes built in 1924 situated in a semi-circular pattern. It is a plain white, wood frame, stucco, square 52 X 41 1/2 foot, two-story structure with a peak-shaped, Spanish red tile roof. The ground floor consists of a den, living room, dining room, and bathroom. The second floor contains three bedrooms and a bathroom.

First and Second Assistants's Houses - Also built in 1924, these houses are the other two structures located in the semi-circle in the center of the complex. They are both identical plain white, wood frame, stucco, rectangular 29 X 68 foot one-story structures with peak-shaped, Spanish red tile roofs. The floorplan of each house consists of three bedrooms, a full bath, a living room, a dining room, and a kitchen.

All three houses contain full basements.

Two Garages - Two, three-car garages are located on the station. One is located on the station fifty feet behind the Keeper's House, the other at the southeast end of the transit barracks. Built in 1924, both are approximately 18 X 40 foot, single-story, wood frame stucco, with Spanish red tile roof. The three stalls are unpartitioned and a small tool room is located inside each.

The operations and transit barracks were built in 1966 and located along the northeastern border of the complex.

Operations Building - The operations building consists of two maintenance rooms, six administrative offices, one bathroom, and one large 48 X 25 foot radio room. It is a single-story, block-constructed structure.

Transient Barracks - The transient barracks is a single-story, flat-roofed block structure. Its floor plan consists of a large recreation room, two Bathrooms, Laundry room, gang shower, three storage rooms, mechanical room, a large galley with an accompanying dry storage room, and eighteen 12 X 12 two-man rooms.