Yerba Buena Lighthouse

Thought I’d try a more artistic rendering for today.  Sometimes when I don’t have any new pictures to work on, I find something that might lend itself to some textures and such.  All this while I watched last night’s recorded episode of The Voice.  LOL.  (You can read about the lighthouse below if you wish.)

This lighthouse sits on Yerba Buena Island between the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge.  Yerba Buena was originally nicknamed “Goat Island” due to the Costanoan Indians who would herd goats on the island.  In 1873, the U.S. Army set up camp on the island, which ended up driving away the Indians (sadly).  In 1874, the Lighthouse Board set up a Lighthouse Depot on the island to maintain all the aids to navigation for the Bay Area.

The lighthouse was built in 1874, mainly to serve passenger boats and ferries between Oakland and San Francisco.  Once the Bay Bridge opened in the late 1930s, the decision was made to keep the lighthouse operational due to increased shipping traffic in the Bay.  To this day, the lighthouse still retains its original fourth-order Fresnel lens and is still an active aid to navigation. However, instead of a lighthouse keeper, the keeper’s dwelling is occupied by a Coast Guard Admiral.  Surprisingly enough, he is responsible for all of the aids to navigation for the San Francisco Bay area.  The lighthouse was automated in 1958.

Advertisement

Eastern Span of the Bay Bridge

The same evening I shot the moon rising beneath the Bay Bridge from Treasure Island, earlier we went atop Yerba Buena Island to take this shot of the Eastern Span of the Bay Bridge.  Treasure and Yerba Buena Islands are often referred to collectively as “former Naval Station Treasure Island” or “Treasure Island”.  Yerba Buena is connected to Treasure Island and is not very big.  It’s the hilly island whereas Treasure Island is flat.  The Yerba Buena Tunnel runs through its center and connects the western and eastern spans of the Bay Bridge.

You can drive up to the very top for now….that is until they start changing everything there.  Rumor has it there will be a hotel and condos built.  I’m not really looking forward to that.  Seems everywhere there is land around the bay, it’s being developed.  But for now, I really love going to the top and taking in the stunning views.

Bay Bridge from Yerba Buena Island