by Chelsea Sektnan
As the Point Vicente Lighthouse approaches its 100th anniversary next April, a new nonprofit has formed to restore the historic beacon. It has been closed to the public since 2019 due to hazardous conditions, including a rusted iron roof, falling roof tiles and the presence of lead and asbestos.
“This lighthouse means so much to everybody,” said Catherine Sincich, Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of the Friends of the Point Vicente Lighthouse.
“It’s just always been here, and it will be here for another 100 years if we put a little bit of work into it.”
The iconic white lighthouse, perched high above the water on the Palos Verdes Peninsula, has been guiding mariners since 1926 with its signature double white flash every 20 seconds. It remains an active aid to navigation.
“You see it from the road and it looks beautiful, but when you get closer, you realize, wow, it needs help,” said Colleen Felix of Pasadena, who visited during the once-a-month Saturday open house. “If people in the community want to restore it, I’m all for that. It’s worth saving.”
The restoration effort began unexpectedly when Sincich and fellow co-founder Amy Forte crossed paths during one of the lighthouse’s monthly open houses.
“She was talking to Kip [Louttit, the retired auxiliary lighthouse keeper], I was just overhearing it, and wondered why isn’t this work being done? Oh, there’s no money? Well, why isn’t there a group? Oh, there isn’t a group. Well, let’s go form one,” Sincich recalled.
Forte, a Palos Verdes Estates resident and higher education administrator, had recently toured the White Cliffs of Dover and returned home both inspired and dismayed by the condition of her local lighthouse.
“It kind of bummed me out… I was like, why can’t we go into our own lighthouse here?” she said. “I started asking questions, and learned that historic preservation just isn’t a high priority in the Coast Guard’s budget, which is understandable. That’s when we started talking about what it would look like for the community to help.”
With support from the Coast Guard Auxiliary and the local Coast Guard command, the Friends group is taking on the responsibility of preserving and reopening the lighthouse. Their first major goal is to raise $45,000, most of which would fund a site survey to determine the full scope and cost of restoration.
“We don’t really know how much we need to ask for until we get that site survey done,” Forte said. “Then we’ll be in a better position to go out to the community.”
In the meantime, she and Sincich — along with a small core team of volunteers — are juggling fundraising, outreach, nonprofit paperwork, and growing interest from the public.
Community response from has been encouraging.
“People are starting to talk to their neighbors, their friends, their co-workers,” said Sincich. “We’ve gotten a lot of response from the public — they thank us for taking this step.”
“I’d say most residents on the Peninsula feel the lighthouse is very iconic,” Forte said. “It looks beautiful when you drive by.”
The group is seeking volunteers with experience in marketing, communications, grant writing, finance, and legal advising, not just to join, but to help carry out the work.
“We need workers,” Forte said. “Not just people who want to be told what’s going on, but people willing to come down, take on tasks, and actually help deliver.”
Support for the restoration also comes from within the Coast Guard Auxiliary.
“To me, just having continuity of history and being aware of your history is important to understand where they are today,” said Robert Waldron, a volunteer and history enthusiast.
Visitors from around Southern California echoed that sentiment, expressing excitement and surprise about seeing the site up close.
“I’ve always wanted to come, and I know it’s only been one day a month,” said Ted Dollard of Rancho Palos Verdes. “Today was just my lucky day, I’ve been living here for, like, 13 years, and this is the first time I’ve ever been here.”
Dollard supports the effort to restore the site and urged others to get involved.
“I’m 100% behind it. We absolutely should be restoring it. It’s an iconic landmark in our community,” he said. “The community should definitely help fix it up.”
The need for restoration hit home for Paul Tamalumas of Rancho Palos Verdes, who visited with his young son in mid-June during their once-a-month open house.
“I grew up here. I lived here for 17 years, and I’ve never known about this place,” he said. “It’s kind of sad. I have a nine-year-old son who’s never been in a lighthouse. He was just telling me how he’d love to go inside someday, and I think that’s a good motivation for something like this to get going.”
Other visitors said they were surprised the site had not already been restored.
“I like lighthouses, and I’ve been to quite a few of them. I just wish we could go in,” said Sean Baker of Chino, who visited with his family on Father’s Day weekend. “It’s kind of disappointing that it’s not open. If it were restored, I’d definitely come back.”
“It’d be nice to be able to go inside one day,” said Victor Tong of Redondo Beach. “I think it’s a great project, it brings people together, and it’s something the community can be proud of.”
Longer-term plans include full restoration of the tower and its support buildings, as well as a community celebration scheduled for next April to mark the centennial.
“It should be open,” Sincich said. “People want to climb it, they want to take in the view, they want the experience.” Pen
