Point Bonita Historic District: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, National Park Service

Fitzgerald, Kathleen; Stromberg, Gretchen

The Point Bonita Historic District is a ninety‑two acre historic site located on Point Bonita within the boundaries of Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Point Bonita, located on the southwest tip of the Marin Headlands, is a sharp and rocky promontory that projects out into the water of the Golden Gate, the entrance to San Francisco Bay. The Point Bonita Historic District contains those structures associated with aids to navigation including the Point Bonita Light Station and early humanitarian efforts associated with the Point Bonita Life‑Saving Station. The major contributing features of the district include the 1877 lighthouse which included the 1855 iron and glass structure, the 1903 fog‑signal building, the Pedestrian Tunnel and Lighthouse Trail, Suspension Bridge, early 1960s residences, Monterey cypress windbreaks, the remnant Boathouse Trail and the boathouse launchway ruins. The Point Bonita Historic District period of significance is 1855 to 1966, which includes the last phase of development at both the light and life‑saving stations by the Coast Guard and the long‑anticipated transfer of the land from the U.S. Army to the U.S. Coast Guard. Initially constructed on a barren ridge top in 1855, the Point Bonita Light Station consisted of the lighthouse and a Keeper’s dwelling. As the station grew and the U.S. Lighthouse Service gained knowledge about the unique climatic conditions on the West Coast, the station stretched to the southern most tip of the Point. This site was desirable because it provided the location for a new lighthouse and fog‑signal building that could be seen and heard by ships navigating under the high canopy of fog seen along the California coast and through the Golden Gate. However, the unstable nature of the rocky point led to the destruction of many of the structures and portions of the circulation system throughout the history of the site. Landslides, caused by heavy winter storms and earthquakes, damaged or destroyed the Keeper’s and assistant Keeper’s dwellings, two of the fog‑signal buildings, the gallery around the cliff connecting two segments of the Lighthouse Trail and life‑saving station’s boathouses. Consequently, the various agencies responsible for managing the site have constantly modified the site based on the harsh physical and climatic conditions. The natural systems and features of Point Bonita provided an ideal location for both the light station and the life‑saving station. The high promontory jutting out into the Pacific Ocean and its location at the entrance to the Golden Gate provide unobstructed views of the light from passing vessels. While no longer staffed, the Point Bonita Light still serves as a functioning navigational aid. Point Bonita Cove offered some protection to the harsh conditions of the open waters, allowing the surfmen to launch their boats during rescues. The remaining contributing buildings and structures display the evolution of the light station, including the 1855 beacon room combined with the 1877 lighthouse tower base to lower the focal plane of the light to be below the high fog of the West Coast. The trail and tunnel remain the primary access to the lighthouse tower. The historic access to the site of the boathouses is still visible although erosion has damaged sections of the roadway. The contributing ruins and remnant features of the historic district include the sites of the light station residences marked by the naturalized garden flora, fog‑signal buildings, ruins and inclined tramway; and life‑saving station residences, garage, boathouses and launchway

Point Bonita Historic District: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Golden Gate National Recreation Area, National Park Service

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