Ballast Point: Only Yesterday

In 1855 the Lighthouse Service constructed the first Point Loma Light Station high on a bluff to mark the entrance to San Diego Harbor. The location was thought to serve two purposes: 1) show the entrance to San Diego Harbor, and 2) act as a seacoast light to help vessels fix their position. In actuality, it served neither. It was too far from the channel into San Diego Harbor to help vessels navigate the narrow channel and it was too high to be of use to vessels sailing offshore as layers of low coastal fog obscured the light.