ALCATRAZ ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE
San Francisco Bay, California
Alcatraz Island is probably more widely known as the site of a maximum security, federal penitentiary. often called The Rock, than for the fact that it was the site of the very first lighthouse on the west coast. Yep, they built it first and Fort Point second, and then waited nearly a year before lighting up the west coast on June 1st, 1854, with a fixed 3rd order Fresnel lens mounted in a light house similar to the Point Piņos light. It was the first light here.
They put a fog signal on the island in 1856 and a better one in 1883. They removed the 3rd order lens in 1902 and sent it up to Cape Elias, Alaska. They installed a new 4th order lens that flashed white every 15 seconds. Then in 1909, the military expanded the prison there and they had to tear down the original light. It was replaced with the current tower, 84 feet of reinforced concrete. The light was switched to electric and in 1963 it became one of the first lighthouses to be automated.
You can see Alcatraz Island from a number of places in the Bay. I have photographed it from Treasure Island, Fisherman's Wharf, the Golden Gate Bridge, and Fort Point. You can also take a tour over there by boat. The closest viewing is from Fisherman's Wharf. Alcatraz came from the Spanish word 'alcatraces' which means pelicans. It was the name originally given to what is now Yerba Buena Island, but somebody changed the name to Alcatraz and gave it to this island.
Here's how I saw it:
JBC Photography