Qualla: Ballast Point Lighthouse https://qualla.com/ballast-point-lighthouse en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:03 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/9/m/u/9/ballast-point-lighthouse-wp/ballast-point-1900.jpg Qualla: Ballast Point Lighthouse https://qualla.com/ballast-point-lighthouse Ballast Point Lighthouse: Introduction https://qualla.com/ballast-point-lighthouse/ Photo credit Uploaded by Johntex, Public domain. The name tells you everything about this place. Early Yankee ship captains gathered stones from this tiny peninsula jutting into San Diego Bay, loading them as ballast for the long voyage around Cape Horn back to Boston. That practical tradition gave Ballast Point its name, and in 1890, a lighthouse rose here to guide vessels into the harbor. It would be the last fixed-light lighthouse on the Pacific coast. When the tower came down in 1960, its lantern room began a strange journey across San Diego County that continues today.

Read more: Ballast Point Lighthouse on Qualla

Image: Uploaded by Johntex | Public domain

]]> Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/m/u/9/ballast-point-lighthouse-wp/9mu9-ballast-point-lighthouse-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Ballast Point Lighthouse: Where Explorers Anchored https://qualla.com/ballast-point-lighthouse/ Photo credit Uploaded by Johntex, Public domain. Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo dropped anchor in the quiet waters inside Ballast Point on September 28, 1542, after five months of battling headwinds from the Port of Navidad. He named the harbor San Miguel and stayed six days. Sixty years passed before another European keel disturbed t...

Read more: Ballast Point Lighthouse on Qualla

Image: Uploaded by Johntex | Public domain

]]> Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/m/u/9/ballast-point-lighthouse-wp/9mu9-ballast-point-lighthouse-where-explorers-anchored.mp3 0:06 2 full Ballast Point Lighthouse: The Whale Killers https://qualla.com/ballast-point-lighthouse/ Photo credit Uploaded by Johntex, Public domain. Shore whaling made perfect sense at Ballast Point: the whales came to the whalers rather than the other way around. Gray whales migrating along the California coast passed close to Point Loma, and hunting boats could intercept them without long voyages. Workers towed the massive ...

Read more: Ballast Point Lighthouse on Qualla

Image: Uploaded by Johntex | Public domain

]]> Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/m/u/9/ballast-point-lighthouse-wp/9mu9-ballast-point-lighthouse-the-whale-killers.mp3 0:06 3 full Ballast Point Lighthouse: The Fifth-Order Light https://qualla.com/ballast-point-lighthouse/ Photo credit Uploaded by Johntex, Public domain. In 1890, the Lighthouse Service constructed Ballast Point Light. The original buildings included two dwellings and a white square tower that formed part of the keeper's quarters. Inside the brass and glass lantern sat a fifth-order fixed classical lens with a green shade. This wa...

Read more: Ballast Point Lighthouse on Qualla

Image: Uploaded by Johntex | Public domain

]]> Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/m/u/9/ballast-point-lighthouse-wp/9mu9-ballast-point-lighthouse-the-fifth-order-light.mp3 0:06 4 full Ballast Point Lighthouse: Demolition and Diaspora https://qualla.com/ballast-point-lighthouse/ Photo credit Uploaded by Johntex, Public domain. In June 1960, workers tore down the old dwellings, leaving the tower standing alone. Repairs revealed the problem: the brick and mortar foundation had failed, making the structure unstable. The tower came down, but the lighthouse did not vanish entirely. The lantern room bounced ...

Read more: Ballast Point Lighthouse on Qualla

Image: Uploaded by Johntex | Public domain

]]> Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/m/u/9/ballast-point-lighthouse-wp/9mu9-ballast-point-lighthouse-demolition-and-diaspora.mp3 0:06 5 full Ballast Point Lighthouse: The Light Remains https://qualla.com/ballast-point-lighthouse/ Photo credit United States Coast Survey, Public domain. Ballast Point itself became part of Naval Base Point Loma, closed to casual visitors. But the light continues. An automated beacon stands on a piling in the water off the original site, listed as USCG number 6-1570, showing a white flash every four seconds. A daymark and fog horn...

Read more: Ballast Point Lighthouse on Qualla

Image: United States Coast Survey | Public domain

]]> Thu, 22 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/9/m/u/9/ballast-point-lighthouse-wp/9mu9-ballast-point-lighthouse-the-light-remains.mp3 0:06 6 full