Piedras Blancas Light Station

Image:USCGpiedrasblancasWith.JPGThe first-order Fresnel lens at Piedras Blancas was first illuminated on February 15, 1875.{{cite web|title=Historical Mements: Piedras Blancas Lighthouse|publisher=Cambria Historical Society|access-date=30 January 2016|url=http://www.cambriahistoricalsociety.com/history_lighthouse.html|archive-date=March 17, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160317140557/http://www.cambriahistoricalsociety.com/history_lighthouse.html|url-status=dead}} The Piedras Blancas lighthouse was originally {{convert|100|ft}} high to the top of the ventilator ball, but earthquakes damaged the structure over the years. On December 31, 1948, final damage from an earthquake centered {{convert|6|mi}} off the point led to the decision to remove the upper three floors: the fourth landing, watch room, and lantern. Missing the ornate upper floors, the truncated lighthouse now stands about {{convert|70|ft}} tall. The lens was moved and is on display in the nearby community of Cambria.{{cite web|title=Cambria Historical Society: Historical notes|url=http://www.cambriahistoricalsociety.org/historicalnotes.html|quote=Piedras Blancas Lighthouse Lens|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090418001336/http://www.cambriahistoricalsociety.org/historicalnotes.html#lens|archivedate=April 18, 2009}}

A sound signal was added in 1906.

In 1939, management was transferred from the United States Lighthouse Service to the United States Coast Guard. In 1975, the light was automated, the sound signal removed, and the light station was unmanned. A group of biologists with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service received permission to establish a biological research station in 1977. In 2001, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) assumed management of the site and was tasked to offer structured public access, allow site-specific research to continue, and restore the light station to its period of greatest historical significance (1875 to 1940). The Piedras Blancas Light Station Association is a non-profit partner of the BLM, helping to raise funds for restoration and maintenance.

The lighthouse continues to serve as an aid to navigation. A Vega VRB-25 produces a flash every 10 seconds. The light station is managed as a historic park and wildlife sanctuary.

The Piedras Blancas Historic Light Station was designated as an Outstanding Natural Area in 2008.The Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 2008 ({{USStatute|110|229|122|754-876|2008|05|08}})

File:Piedras_Blancas_Light_Station_Water_Tower.jpgAccess to the {{convert|19|acre|adj=on}} site is by guided tours. The tour lasts two hours and includes the historic lighthouse and support buildings, wildlife viewing, and spectacular scenery along an easy half-mile interpretive trail.

The largest elephant seal rookery on the West Coast is located about a mile south of the lighthouse along California Highway One.{{Cite news |last=Crumley |first=Bruce |date=2022-03-02 |title=Cal Poly students learn drone piloting for elephant seal census |url=https://dronedj.com/2022/03/02/cal-poly-students-learn-drone-piloting-for-elephant-seal-census/ |access-date=2022-03-02 |work=DroneDJ |language=en-US}} A few animals began using the rookery in 1990.{{Cite news |last=Krieger |first=Lisa M. |date=2024-01-20 |title=Once nearly extinct, Elephant seals staking claims |url=https://www.columbian.com/news/2024/mar/05/once-nearly-extinct-elephant-seals-staking-claims/ |access-date=2024-04-01 |work=The Columbian |language=en-US}}{{Cite news |last=Graham |first=Chuck |date=2022-05-18 |title=San Simeon's Rookery on the Rise |url=https://www.independent.com/2022/05/18/san-simeons-rookery-on-the-rise/ |access-date=2022-06-19 |work=The Santa Barbara Independent |language=en-US}} A large parking area and boardwalk offer easy access to view the elephant seals. Docents from Friends of the Elephant Seal provide insight as to what the visitor is viewing.{{Cite web |title=Friends of the Elephant Seal {{!}} Piedras Blancas Northern Elephant Seal Rookery |url=https://elephantseal.org/ |access-date=2022-03-02 |website=elephantseal.org}} Open year-round.{{Cite news |last=Heinrichs |first=Christine |date=December 21, 2022 |title=Welcome back, bulls! Male elephant seals return to SLO County rookery |work=The Tribune (San Luis Obispo) |url=https://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/environment/article270245032.html}}

Piedras Blancas State Marine Reserve and Marine Conservation Area are marine protected areas offshore from Piedras Blancas Light Station. Like underwater parks, these marine protected areas help conserve ocean wildlife and marine ecosystems.{{cite news|url=http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2015/09/18/3814416/bill-would-add-piedras-blancas.html|title=Bill would add Piedras Blancas Light Station to California Coastal National Monument|first=Tonya|last=Strickland|work=The Tribune (San Luis Obispo)|date=September 18, 2015|access-date=September 21, 2015|archive-date=September 19, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150919193831/http://www.sanluisobispo.com/2015/09/18/3814416/bill-would-add-piedras-blancas.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|url=http://www.santacruzsentinel.com/government-and-politics/20150918/bill-would-include-coast-dairies-in-california-coastal-national-monument|title=Bill would include Coast Dairies in California Coastal National Monument| first=Samantha |last=Clark|work= Santa Cruz Sentinel|date= September 18, 2015}}

The 1959 movie The Monster of Piedras Blancas was not shot at Point Piedras Blancas. The lighthouse locations in the movie were filmed at the Point Conception Light lighthouse near Lompoc, and the town is the seaside town of Cayucos, about 30 miles south of Piedras Blancas.

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File:Piedras_Blancas_Light_Station,_2014.jpg|Piedras Blancas, 2014.

File:Piedras Blancas Public Tours.jpeg|Tours of the Piedras Blancas Light Station are offered regularly.

File:Native Plants at Piedras Blancas.jpeg|Native plants ablaze with color in early summer.

File:PB Light Station from the beach.JPG|Piedras Blancas Light Station viewed from the beach below, May 2020

File:Sea Otter at Piedras Blancas.jpeg|Sea otters rest and feed in the waters surrounding Piedras Blancas.

{{panorama|image=File:Piedras Blancas Light Station in the Bakersfield Field Office (40529570133).jpg|height = 180|caption = Panoramic view from the top of the lighthouse, 2019. The lighthouse lost its original top in a major earthquake in 1948.}}

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• List of lighthouses in the United States
• Rancho Piedra Blanca, old Mexican land grant that included Point Piedras Blancas
• Piedras Blancas Motel, vintage roadside motel near the lighthouse

{{reflist}}

• Point Piedras Blancas, by Carole Adams & John Bogacki. 2008, Arcadia "Images of America" series. {{ISBN|978-0738558196}}

{{Commons category|Piedras Blancas Lighthouse}}

• [https://www.blm.gov/programs/national-conservation-lands/california/piedras-blancas-light-station Piedras Blancas Light Station Outstanding Natural Area], Bureau of Land Management
• [http://www.piedrasblancas.org Piedras Blancas Light Station Association]

{{Lighthouses of California}}

{{National Register of Historic Places}}

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Category:Lighthouses completed in 1875

Category:Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in California

Category:National Register of Historic Places in San Luis Obispo County, California

Category:Buildings and structures in San Luis Obispo County, California

Category:Protected areas of San Luis Obispo County, California

Category:Bureau of Land Management areas in California

Category:Gothic Revival architecture in California

Category:Neoclassical architecture in California

Category:Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in California