| By: James Longton | Thursday, November 06, 2008 12:00:00 AM |
| Last updated: Thursday, November 13, 2008 11:32:00 AM |
Los Angeles YC spearheads effort to preserve and restore historic Angel’s Gate.
 | | | Photo by: James Longton | | |  | | | Photo by: yachtphotography.com | | |
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SAN PEDRO -- Los Angeles Harbor’s iconic Angel’s Gate Lighthouse is much more than a venerable aid to navigation, say proponents of a new plan to restore the historic structure that marks the entrance to the Port of Los Angeles.
Angel’s Gate Lighthouse was built in 1913 at the end of a 9,250-foot rock breakwater, on a 40-foot concrete foundation off Cabrillo Beach. Designed in eye-catching Romanesque style, different from any other lighthouse in the state, this 73-foot tower was built to withstand continual punishment from rough seas and heavy weather -- and underneath its elegant exterior is a framework of sturdy structural steel.
Angel’s Gate has become a symbol of Los Angeles Harbor and a welcoming sight to millions of arriving recreational boaters, cruise ship passengers, fishermen and Navy personnel, said Barbara Wallace, historian for Los Angeles Yacht Club.
However, over its nearly 100 years of service, the lighthouse has endured tremendous storms and earthquakes, and it has gradually fallen into disrepair, leaving the structure compromised.
While it is operated and maintained by the Coast Guard, the agency’s responsibility and funding only ensures that the navigation light and foghorn will remain operative and in compliance with federal rules.
Preservation of this piece of maritime history is extremely important, -- and harbor boaters should realize that if the present structure fails, it will be replaced with a less expensive, purely functional, modern skeleton-framed structure that will likely be unattractive, Wallace said.
Because of the importance of avoiding this loss, Los Angeles Yacht Club is spearheading a project to ensure restoration of Angel’s Gate Lighthouse.
“Ours is one of the biggest ports in the nation, and we want to be proud of the entrance to our harbor and show people that we take care of our heritage,” said Wallace, who created the proposal for the Angel’s Gate Lighthouse Restoration Project. “This is really the first historic landmark that people see when they come into the harbor.”
The Los Angeles YC proposal requests funding from the Port’s Aesthetic Mitigation Fund to pay for the necessary restoration, with preliminary estimates of $1.5 million to $2 million. The fund was set in place to ease any burden experienced by local boaters and residents resulting from the port’s commercial success. This lighthouse restoration project represents an ideal opportunity to use these funds in a way that benefits not only West Coast boaters, but all citizens of California, Wallace explained.
“This is the historical icon for the Port of Los Angeles,” Wallace said. “And if we take care of it, we can ensure another 100 years of service.”
For more information, visit the Los Angeles YC Web site, at www.layc.org, and click on “Support the Angel’s Gate Lighthouse.”
This article first appeared in the November 2008 issue of The Log Newspaper. All or parts of the information contained in this article might be outdated. |
