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21-517: Piedras Blancas Light Station is located at Point Piedras Blancas, about 5.5 miles (8.9 km) west by northwest of San Simeon, California . It was added to the California Coastal National Monument in 2017. The first-order Fresnel lens at Piedras Blancas was first illuminated on February 15, 1875. The Piedras Blancas lighthouse was originally 100 feet (30 m) high to the top of the ventilator ball, but earthquakes damaged

42-408: A female householder with no husband present 6.6% had a male householder with no wife present, 6.1% were unmarried opposite-sex partnerships , and 2.5% were same-sex married couples or partnerships ; 34.0% of the households were made up of individuals, and 15.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34. About 61.4% of all households were families ;

63-476: A flash every 10 seconds. The light station is managed as a historic park and wildlife sanctuary . The Piedras Blancas Historic Light Station was designated as an Outstanding Natural Area in 2008. Access to the 19-acre (7.7 ha) site is by guided tours. The tour lasts two hours and includes the historic lighthouse and support buildings, wildlife viewing, and spectacular scenery along an easy half-mile interpretive trail. The largest elephant seal rookery on

84-461: A population of 462. The population density was 579.9 inhabitants per square mile (223.9/km ). The racial makeup of San Simeon was 58.4% White, 0.9% African American, 1.1% Native American, 1.9% Asian, 0.4% Pacific Islander, 34.6% from other races, and 2.6% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 55.8%. Of the 197 households, 26.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 47.7% were married couples living together, 7.1% had

105-536: Is about halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco , each of those cities being roughly 230 miles (370 km) away. A key feature of the area is Hearst Castle , a hilltop mansion built for William Randolph Hearst in the early 20th century that is now a tourist attraction. The area is also home to a large northern elephant seal rookery , known as the Piedras Blancas rookery, located 7 miles (11 km) north of San Simeon on Highway 1. Humans first settled

126-446: Is at San Simeon Bay, and was the important 19th-century shipping point with the successive wharves that were built. San Simeon Acres, about 4 mi south of the original townsite at the mouth of Pico Creek, and so about halfway between old San Simeon and Cambria , was established in the 1950s. Most of the development at San Simeon Acres was in the 1960s to the 1980s. Many motels and cafes serve visitors to Hearst Castle. San Simeon and

147-414: Is mentioned in the records of San Miguel Mission for 1830. San Simeon was named for Rancho San Simeon , although the town-site is actually north of that rancho, on the former Rancho Piedra Blanca , a Mexican land grant given in 1840 to José de Jesús Pico. In 1865, Pico sold part of the rancho to George Hearst , the father of William Randolph Hearst. The first Europeans to settle in the immediate area near

168-644: The Hearst Castle area has a warm-summer Mediterranean climate ( Köppen csb ) that is moderated by its relative proximity to the Pacific coastline. NOW Data has readings from the San Simeon weather station since December 1999. For statistical purposes, the United States Census Bureau has defined San Simeon as a census-designated place (CDP). The 2010 United States Census reported that San Simeon had

189-638: The Hearst Pier, to San Luis Obispo County . It is currently part of Hearst San Simeon State Park . The present-day San Simeon pier was built in 1957. The name San Simeon also refers to some geologic structures of the area, particularly elements of the coastal Jurassic -age landforms and ophiolite rock formations. According to the United States Census Bureau , the census-designated place covers an area of 0.8 square miles (2.1 km ), all of it land. The original townsite of San Simeon

210-739: The West Coast is located about a mile south of the lighthouse along California Highway One . A few animals began using the rookery in 1990. A large parking area and boardwalk offer easy access to view the elephant seals. Docents from Friends of the Elephant Seal provide insight as to what the visitor is viewing. Open year-round. Piedras Blancas State Marine Reserve and Marine Conservation Area are marine protected areas offshore from Piedras Blancas Light Station. Like underwater parks, these marine protected areas help conserve ocean wildlife and marine ecosystems . The 1959 movie The Monster of Piedras Blancas

231-513: The average family size was 3.00. The population was distributed as 22.9% under the age of 18, 6.7% aged 18 to 24, 24.2% aged 25 to 44, 28.1% aged 45 to 64, and 18.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.3 males. The 301 housing units averaged 377.8 per square mile (145.9/km ), of which 44.2% were owner-occupied, and 55.8% were occupied by renters. The homeowner vacancy rate

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252-583: The bay of San Simeon were Portuguese shore whalers under the command of Captain Joseph Clark (born Machado) from the Cape Verde Islands , around 1864. In 1869, Captain Clark built a wharf near the point for his whaling station. A small community grew near the 1869 wharf, but the waves near the wharf were too high, and the wharf was abandoned. In 1878, Hearst built a new wharf, and the small community moved near

273-592: The coast in September 1769. On September 11–12 , the party passed the future location of San Simeon. At Ragged Point , which is about 15 mi (24 km) past San Simeon, the party turned inland across the Santa Lucia Range . San Simeon was founded as an asistencia ("sub-mission") to Mission San Miguel Arcángel , founded in 1797 and located to the east across the Santa Lucia Range. The Bay of San Simeon

294-556: The local area at least 11,000 years ago. Prehistorically, the local area was inhabited by the Chumash people , including a large village south of San Simeon at Morro Creek . In 1542 the coastal exploration of Juan Cabrillo discovered the bay and named it the Bay of Sardines. The first European land exploration of Alta California , the Spanish Portolà expedition , traveled northwest along

315-407: The nesting habits of rooks, the term is used for corvids and the breeding grounds of colony-forming seabirds , marine mammals ( true seals or sea lions ), and even some turtles . Rooks (northern-European and central-Asian members of the crow family ) have multiple nests in prominent colonies at the tops of trees. Paleontological evidence points to the existence of rookery-like colonies in

336-540: The new wharf. A general store (later Sebastian's Store ) was built near the Clark wharf, and then relocated near the 1878 wharf. Shore whaling continued on the point until the mid-1890s. It ceased for a short time, started up again in 1897, and continued until about 1908 when it ceased for good. In 1953, the Hearst Corporation donated the William Randolph Hearst Memorial Beach , including

357-466: The site and was tasked to offer structured public access, allow site-specific research to continue, and restore the light station to its period of greatest historical significance (1875 to 1940). The Piedras Blancas Light Station Association is a non-profit partner of the BLM, helping to raise funds for restoration and maintenance. The lighthouse continues to serve as an aid to navigation. A Vega VRB-25 produces

378-422: The structure over the years. On December 31, 1948, final damage from an earthquake centered 6 miles (9.7 km) off the point led to the decision to remove the upper three floors: the fourth landing, watch room, and lantern. Missing the ornate upper floors, the truncated lighthouse now stands about 70 feet (21 m) tall. The lens was moved and is on display in the nearby community of Cambria . A sound signal

399-410: Was 2.2%; the rental vacancy rate was 11.3%; 31.0% of the population lived in owner-occupied housing units and 68.8% lived in rental housing units. The San Simeon Community Services District provides water and sewerage. The wastewater treatment plant is operated by a private company under contract with the district. The facility also processes sewage for Hearst Castle . Rookery Coming from

420-626: Was added in 1906. In 1939, management was transferred from the United States Lighthouse Service to the United States Coast Guard . In 1975, the light was automated, the sound signal removed, and the light station was unmanned. A group of biologists with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service received permission to establish a biological research station in 1977. In 2001, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) assumed management of

441-588: Was not shot at Point Piedras Blancas. The lighthouse locations in the movie were filmed at the Point Conception Light lighthouse near Lompoc , and the town is the seaside town of Cayucos , about 30 miles south of Piedras Blancas. San Simeon, California San Simeon ( Spanish : San Simeón , meaning "St. Simon") is an unincorporated community on the Pacific coast of San Luis Obispo County, California , United States. Its position along State Route 1

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