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Photograph of Point Montara Light
Photograph by Frank Schulenburg, CC BY-SA 3.0. Via Wikimedia Commons.

Point Montara Light Station

Built in 1875. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1991. 11 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1947.

From the record

“The Point Montara Light is a lighthouse in Montara, California, United States, on the southern approach to the San Francisco Bay, California approximately 25 miles south of San Francisco.”

Wikipedia article Point Montara Light, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 63 National Register listings published here for San Mateo County · listed in 1991 · category: District · built in 1875.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

  • What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 3 buildingss, 1 structure as contributing to the listing.
  • Address. Jct. of 16th St. and CA 1, Montara, 94038
  • When was it listed? September 1991
  • Category. district
  • Also known as. Light Stations of California MPS
  • Census division. Half Moon Bay
  • When was it built? 1875
  • National Register reference number. 91001094 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Then and now

1947 to 1985

The ground this property stands on, surveyed 38 years apart. Drag the handle to wipe between them. Both sheets are United States Geological Survey originals; neither has been altered.

Topographic sheet covering Point Montara Light Station, surveyed 1985
Topographic sheet covering Point Montara Light Station, surveyed 1947

Fires near this property

85 since 1992

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 85 fires within 5 miles of Point Montara Light Station between 1992 and 2020, burning about 43 acres in total. 7 started naturally. 9 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined49
Arson/incendiarism9
Natural7
Misuse of fire by a minor7
Equipment and vehicle use6
Recreation and ceremony4
Smoking2
Debris and open burning1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
9 September 1999Naturalunder an acreSan Mateo-Santa Cruz UnitSCARPER
28 September 2020Arson/incendiarismunder an acreSan Mateo-Santa Cruz Unit5TH ST / EAST AV
28 September 2012Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSan Mateo-Santa Cruz UnitMADRONA AV EL_GRANADA
27 September 2009Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
26 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire ProtectionDEVILS SLIDE TUNNEL SOUTH
25 September 2010Missing data/not specified/undetermined2.0 acresSan Mateo-Santa Cruz UnitAIRPORT ST / LOS BANOS AV
25 September 2005Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreCalifornia Department of Forestry & Fire Protectionnot named
21 September 2012Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreSan Mateo-Santa Cruz UnitCORAL REEF AV EL_GRANADA

Every fire recorded in San Mateo County

Mines and quarries near this property

7 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 7 workings within 5 miles of Point Montara Light Station: 4 past producers, 2 producers, 1 prospect. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Gold, Stone, Granite, Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Calif. AggregatesCalciumPast Producer
MiguelGraniteProducer
MiguelStone, Crushed/BrokenPast Producer
Deniston PeakGoldPast ProducerGold
Dennison PeakGoldProspect
El GranadaStoneProducer
El GranadaStonePast Producer

Every working recorded in San Mateo County

Storms near this property

1 since 2009

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Montara, the town this property stands in, in 1 storm report in 2009: 1 heavy rain. The reports record 3 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
October 2009Heavy RainMontara3 hurtAt 7:47 a.m. PDT the California Highway Patrol responded to a three car collision on Highway 1 at Devil's Slide. Heavy rain and strong winds were a contributing factor of the crash. A 74-year-old woman lost her life in the accident.

Every storm recorded in San Mateo County

Maps showing this location

11 surveys

United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Photograph PropertyDistance Listed
Princeton Hotel2.8 miles1979
Sanchez Adobe Park3.8 miles1976
San Francisco Bay Discovery Site5.7 miles1968
Pilarcitos Creek Bridge6.8 miles2014
William Adam Simmons House7.1 miles1992
Methodist Episcopal Church at Half Moon Bay7.1 miles1980

Sources for this property

National Archives recordThe nomination case file for reference 91001094 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia articleCommunity-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
San Mateo CountyAll 63 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

  • Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
  • Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
  • How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
  • Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
  • Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
  • Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.