When visiting California, the Alcatraz Lighthouse should be one of your stops. On the south-east end of Alcatraz Island National Park, the Alcatraz Lighthouse stands 84 feet tall, and has a rotating beacon.
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The first lighthouse on the Pacific coast of California, Alcatraz Lighthouse was originally built in 1854- when the island was a military fort. The current tower was built in 1909 after construction of a new building obstructed the tower, which had been damaged in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
Still operational, the octagonal tower is made from reinforced concrete in the Cape Cod lighthouse style. A keeper lived in a cottage adjacent to the lighthouse until 1963, when the Alcatraz prison was closed and the lighthouse became automated. The keeper’s cottage and the nearby warden’s house were destroyed by fire in 1970, while the island was occupied by a group of American Indians.
The interior of the lighthouse is not open to the public, but its grounds are part of the general Alcatraz Island tour. The island is open to tours seven days a week, except on federal holidays. The island can only be accessed by cruise boats, which contract with the National Park Service. Reservations are recommended.
