Point San Luis Lighthouse (Whaler's Inn Lighthouse)

Before the lighthouse existed, ships threading into Port San Luis Harbor did it blind. On the night of April 29, 1888, the Queen of the Pacific took on water and limped toward the pier in the dark, making it to within about 500 feet before settling to the bottom — in just 22 feet of water. No lives lost, but the argument was made: a lighthouse would have brought her home. Congress had already authorized funding in 1886. The lighthouse was completed and lit for the first time on June 30, 1890. It's still an active light station, its beam visible 17 miles out.