Episode 16. Point Fermin Lighthouse

In this episode, I interview Joseph Gray and we talk about the Point Fermin Lighthouse.

Transcript

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Hey folks, welcome to the Harbor area podcast. I have a very special guest here. I'm going to go ahead and turn it over to him so he could introduce himself. What's going on, guys. My name is Joseph Gray. I'm the GM over at how it works in Pedro. And I'm very excited to be here at the Harbor area podcast, it's a special moment for me just to be a part of this community and a part of this podcast right now. What's up, Joseph, thank you for making time to come on the show. We met in the winter months around Christmas time at the chamber holiday. Mixer. Yeah,. I think it was a great opportunity for a lot of the businesses in the community let loose a little bit, get to know one another on I'm more, personable. Aspect, but above all, it was a great time and I was. I was happy. I ran into you, honestly. Yeah, man, those chamber events are lit. More times than not. Oh, man. So one of my favorite people in Pedro right now is Mr. Heck is John. That is awesome. Shout out to John. Yeah, he's really cool. And I also got to meet your bosses of hot works as well. So you guys just opened up, right? For sure. We've been in the San Pedro community for about a year and some change now. The. The quote unquote soft opening was in January of 20, 24. We didn't have our grand opening until November of 20, 24, but we've been here for a little bit and we're super grateful for the community receiving us. And. Using us leveraging us as a health and wellness tool. And as a member myself, I enjoy going there and sweating out all of the. Toxins. In my body, but and then so thankful for you guys too, because you're now one of my home gyms, but I think that when we did meet back in December it was like a, an instant connection and there was some excitement around the podcast. And you said, when I came to San Pedro, like one of the first landmarks that really interested me or that I saw. Was the point from enlight house. Could you tell me, like what interested you about the lighthouse? I think first and foremost, was the architectural build of it. It's very unique. You don't see a lot of Victorian style builds. In Los Angeles on this in a south bay, you got to travel up into Hollywood and see some of those Victoria builds. So that was one of the parts that I admired the most about the point from in lighthouse. Awesome. And do you live here in San Pedro or you just happened to find your, find a wave that threw you here and. That is a lot of happenstance. So I'm a south bay native I'm out of Carson right now. So when I applied for this role, I let Jordy's and Marty eco. Immuno. So let them know Hey, you guys are in a, in awesome. Location because this community they're very active and they love to support within the community. As long as you do right by him, very word of mouth town. So it'll spread like wildfire. If you treat the community well, they'll show up. We don't want no wildfires here. I had this horrible time in your mind. Oracle timing. So you caught a wave into San Pedro because your new employer said, this is where my business is going to be. And then you just started exploring the town. Yeah. The grassroots outreach led me into a lot of the community. Myra Garcia. She is I liked it thinking. She's the head administrator outside of at least Swanson with the chamber of commerce. Built a relationship with them. Found myself in sirens, found myself, decided Partnering got times with Jelena and Amman over there at Miller Butler pizza. One of my favorite spots. Let's see, the list goes on and on man. So I did a lot of outreach into the community and just seeing truly what San Pedro was growing up on. I should say, in the west side of Los Angeles, the Inglewood area, the Like the south central area, you don't really understand Pedro. You don't cause you're an outsider looking in and coming here and see what is truly about man has been awesome is truly, has been awesome. That's great. And that's the purpose and intent of the podcast was, as a newcomer myself to send Pedro. I just, found myself in so many different places and I was asking what was here or what is this? And so the purpose of the podcast was really to help centralize some of the history here. And so I'm so grateful that you wanted to do an episode on the point from in lighthouse, right? It's the least we could do is acknowledge something that's so nationally recognized and is a treasure. For what it's a stood for and B what it's done for the maritime community. The fishermen, the sellers I'm in a totally different century is, feels three lifetimes ago, but It's been instrumental for. Ocean life, Harbor area. The area. With my father being a war veteran. It's the through some very difficult times and I definitely. I'm here to. Give it as flowers right now. Let's jump on in. Yeah. Here we go. The point from in lighthouse was built in 1874 to help guide ships navigating the Los Angeles Harbor and San Pedro bay coastline. Before it's construction. The area was treacherous for maritime travel with Rocky shores. And strong current posing risks to vessels. The lighthouse was one of the first navigational aids on the west coast Commissioned by the us lighthouse board is architectural design was done by Paul J Pels. He was a German born architect known for designing government buildings, including the library of Congress. He crafted the lighthouse in the stick style, a Victorian era, architectural style characterized. By decorative wooden trim and a steeply pitched roof. So the lighthouse Was built using California Redwood and its light source was originally a Fresno lens, which projected a beam visible up to 20 miles out to sea. Could you talk to me about what a Fresno Len is? I got you. I got you. So a Fresno lens is a compact lens originally developed for use in lighthouses. It was first developed by French physicist, Augustine. John Fresno in 1822. The design uses a series of concentric annular sections to produce a lens with a large aperture and a short focal light. Fresnel lenses are thin and lightweight. Typically have short focal links. And are more efficient than conventional optical lenses. They are optical lenses, consisting of a series of concentric grooves etched into a plastic substrate. Couldn't even tell you. Necessarily. What an annular lens is. I could not. I can imagine. I probably need to go on a tour over there too. I think. And then folks were just let me. W we just, we decided to do this episode for like fun, but I think like when they say angular lens, like I've used, I used to play with this like spy toys. Back in the day. And I would like peek over the neighbor's wall. And what it would do is put two mirrors and they were like at an angle. And what it would do is be able to push your visibility. To be able to take a peak over. Yeah. So they, they must have angled them so that there was this like kerosene burning and then it pushed through this tube and that literally shot out. 10 to 20 miles, which I think is a really freaking cool invention. That's pretty awesome right there. Just like using reflection, using light, using what you already have. Yeah. That's pretty awesome. That's pretty awesome. And To basically keep the boats from crashing into the treacherous coastline. Cause our beaches are very different from like Santa Monica. Malibu. There's not a lot of Sandy beaches around here. It's a very Rocky right. I definitely noticed. If you chill on the beach, you're chilling, like in a space. It's not like a mile of a beach, right? Part of the ocean. And I think that's what makes San Pedro such a really interesting unique. Harbor community. But check this out. So check this out. The lighthouse was first lit on December 15th, 1874. And for many years, it was operated by civilian lighthouse keepers who lived on site with their families. The role of the keepers was essential. They maintained the kerosene lamp. Kept the lenses clean. And ensured that the lighthouse function properly. I think that's pretty awesome. I'm pretty sure that took a lot of due diligence on their end at that. One notable aspect of the point from in lighthouses that, It's first who keepers were woman. A rarity at the time. Sisters, Mary and Ella Smith were appointed as keepers from 1874. T 1882, setting a precedent for female leadership at the lighthouse. And what a better month to make that known as we are in March celebrating National women's month. Absolutely. Absolutely. Cannot. You cannot understate how intrical women have been to not only the development of the United States, but the world. Women have been put on the back bar, honey. Back burner for too many years. Too many times eight. They do nothing but add value. And when you give them the opportunity to shine and not take away from them, Man. Shout out to sister Mary and Ella Smith. They were. Definitely the first to do it over there. Point from it and I'm sure they ran a tight ship, being the first women, they had to make sure that. The job at hand was not only just done. But done at a very high level. Yeah. I'm sure there was some very meticulous measures that they had to take to be like, you know what. I can't believe we've been doing this. And we're going to do it better than men. Exactly. Exactly. So awesome. Freaking awesome. For sure. So there were some changes in technology around world war II. So over time advancements in navigational technology and Harbor development made the lighthouse less critical in 1925, the light house was electrified eliminating the need for manual kerosene lamp maintenance. Pretty short at Rockefeller square and happy with that one. Now you keep the kerosene around. That's what kinda got them started, but that's neither here nor there. I mean during world war two, the lighthouses roll dramatically changed. After the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941. Coastal defense became a top priority. The us military took control of the lighthouse and his light was extinguished by 1941 to prevent enemy ships or submarines from using it as a navigational aid, which is extremely important. We want to keep that black doubt. Keep that completely bad. Talking war where my dad is. Strategy and all that stuff. So it gets me fired up. This is one of my favorite parts about point farming's history, So instead the lighthouse became a military lookout station. With this tower use to monitor for possible enemy activity along the coast, and remain dark for the rest of the war, which makes complete sense. After the war, the point from enlight house was no longer needed as an active navigational aid. Instead the Los Angeles Harbor light also known as angels, gate light house. We need a part two. Which was constructed in 1913. Took over as the primary beacon for the Harbor. Ah me for decades. The lighthouse fell it to neglect, which is extremely freaking unfortunate. However, in the 1970s, local perseveration is in hold in historical groups. Recognizing its significance, work to restorative building in 1972, it was listed on the national register of historic places and restoration efforts. I continued. The city of Los Angeles department of recreation and parks took over its management and transformed it into a museum. And opened it to the public in 2002. Have you had the chance to visit it? I haven't, I've driven by I've driven by and I did a lot of work on Catalina. In college and I'm pretty sure that there's the lions lighthouse in long beach. Idle kind of by itself. So in my history, I used to look out at that lighthouse in all, because it just seems so. Majestic ominous by itself. Just had a bunch of mystery behind it. Cause you don't really know what goes on in those things anymore. We don't use them. And this is the millennial coming. Oh man. Lighthouse have been lighthouses are extremely important. To where we are today. Extremely important. And so when I driven past and I've seen point from, and it's just that majestic. View of it. It's wow. What has gone on in there over this period of time. And I know that they do guide it towards now. I have to carve out some time. I was able to carve out some time to pop over to to the Harbor area podcasts, but it's definitely something that is on my to-do list as well as actually getting over to the Korean bill. Just a shout out to the point from in lighthouse, the tours are actually free. I think they happen like at certain time periods during the day. And before we end, what we'll do is we'll go ahead and we'll plug those times and we'll. Okay, Google the website. And everybody needs to be aware of those times. For sure. No doubt guys. Good over there. Before we push away from that, I actually had the chance to visit. And it's really cool. They've done a really good job. The curators of the museum. Just from the outside, like the preservation of the wood. The light yellow, Canary colored paint. Like when you walk in and it's old, it's creaky, but I think that's what makes it so beautiful. When you walk in the rooms, like everything's just a little bit smaller, I don't know if humans were smaller than, or were just like big dudes, but they took these like small little like square spaces and there's like an oven and there's like a living room and there's just there's all this stuff and it's just, it's really it's cute. It's it's it's well curated. And if you ever get a chance, if you're in the area, you got to go and Check it out. Absolutely. So I'm above all today. The point from in lighthouse is a fully restored museum showcasing this original architecture. Lighthouse keepers quarters. And historical artifacts. Can't beat that, man. It's located in point Fermin park. Offering stunning views of what we call the Pacific ocean. Visitors can explore, the lighthouse tower, there's a limited guided tour. So make sure you check out those times and like Joel said we'll list those times for you guys. The keepers livings quarters they're restored to their Victorian era. Appearance, which is extremely unique to see these days. Guys. Exhibits on a maritime history. We'll be on display as well. Lighthouse technology and coastal defense. Lastly, the surrounding garden and scenic cliff overlooking the ocean is probably a grand sight. So the, I guess they have a point from, in a lighthouse festival. I should know this is that right? And the event celebrates its legacy drawing, history, buffs, lighthouse, enthusiasts, and tourists alike. We got to go check that. I got to check that out, man. You say festival I'm there. I'm there. So the point, Fermin lighthouse stands as a Testament to California's maritime heritage, the evolution of lighthouse technology, and the critical role it played in us. Coastal defense. From his early days, guiding ships to its role in world war two and its eventual restoration as a museum, it remains an iconic part of San Pedro's history. All right. So this is directly off the city of Los Angeles department of recreation and parks, and it looks like the operation hours are. Monday through Saturday nine 30 to five 30. Okay. And that some parkour is in there too. If you wanted to just come and hang out right. Yeah, and I would definitely call just to make sure that it's opened. I believe last time I made a reservation. The number is 3 1 0. 5 4 8, 7, 7 0 5. Joseph, this has been so much fun. I really got to learn a lot about the point for a minute lighthouse. Absolutely. Absolutely. It's not just a beauty, right? It's not just a. Historical figure it has level. It has a lot to it, man, a lot of character as a lot built inside of it, built to it, man. And this is actually awesome. This is awesome that the history that San Pedro is carrying. The world needs to know. LA needs to know. And, I think. If you talk to San Pedro. And for example, if I was somebody getting off of the cruise ship and they said, where should I go? Hello. It's going to be the point from enlight house. It's going to be angels gate. I was actually surprised to hear that the other light house in Cabrio beach was called Angel's gate light house. So there's two there's two. Yeah. Oh, so you got to come back because we need to talk about that one. Yeah, we've got to dig into it a little bit. Guys got dig into that one. All right, folks. Thank you so much for listening. Joseph it's really been a pleasure. Thank you for coming out. Then you ran a me, Joel. Taking an interest in the podcast. And folks, if you need a sweat it out a little bit, you gotta head on over to hot works. These guys were making sweat. We'll take care of you guys. Come on over.

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