Qualla: Point Hueneme Light

Point Hueneme Light: Introduction

Sun, 11 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Pierce Groves, CC BY-SA 4.0. A buff-colored tower rises from the shoreline at Port Hueneme, its clean Art Deco lines standing in quiet contrast to the rugged California coast. Point Hueneme Light has marked the southeastern entrance to the Santa Barbara Channel since 1874, guiding vessels past one of the most treacherous stretches of the Southern California coast. The current tower, completed in 1941, replaced an earlier structure that had served mariners for nearly seven decades.

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Image: Pierce Groves | CC BY-SA 4.0

Point Hueneme Light: A Century of Service

Sun, 11 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Thomas from USA, CC BY 2.0. The original lighthouse was completed in 1874, designed by architect Paul J. Pelz in the same style as several sister stations along the Pacific Coast. When a violent storm destroyed the nearby wharf in 1938, the Oxnard Harbor District formed and rebuilt both the port and its lig...

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Image: Thomas from USA | CC BY 2.0

Point Hueneme Light: The Wreck of La Jenelle

Sun, 11 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Department of Commerce. Bureau of Lighthouses. 1913-7/1/1939, Public domain. On April 13, 1970, the veteran passenger liner La Jenelle lay at anchor offshore, awaiting conversion to a floating restaurant. Her owners had left her in the open ocean to save on moorage costs, with only a single watchman aboard. When a storm rolled in, the ship slipped her anc...

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Image: Department of Commerce. Bureau of Lighthouses. 1913-7/1/1939 | Public domain

Point Hueneme Light: The Lighthouse Today

Sun, 11 Jan 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Konrad Summers from Santa Clarita (Valencia) , California, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0. The lighthouse remains federal property, operated by the U.S. Coast Guard. In 2008, the City of Port Hueneme dedicated the Lighthouse Promenade, a half-mile walkway from Sunset Beach to the tower itself. Members of the Coast Guard Auxiliary serve as volunteer lighthouse keepers, ...

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Image: Konrad Summers from Santa Clarita (Valencia) , California, USA | CC BY-SA 2.0