Lahaina Light, waterfront called Keawaiki (small passage), Maui, Hawaii
Originally built in 1840. Current structure built in 1917, with at least 5 previous structures in the same area since the light was established in 1840.
LAHAINA LIGHT
Location: Lahaina Harbor, Maui
Station Established: 1840
Year Current Tower(s) First Lit: 1917
Operational: Yes
Automated: Yes
Deactivated: N/A
Construction Materials: Concrete
Tower Shape: Pyramidal
Markings/Pattern: White
Original Lens: ?; whale oil lamps
Present Optic: VRB-25
Year Present Lens Installed: 1996
Height: 39'
Height of Focal Plane: 44'
Characteristic: Red, FL 7.5
Historical Information:
- In 1840 King Kamehameha III ordered a nine-foot wooden tower built on this site as an aid to navigation for the whaling ships that would anchor off Lahaina. It is therefore "the oldest lighthouse of the U.S. Pacific coast." It was equipped with a whale oil lamp and was cared for by a keeper who was paid $20 per year.
- By 1856 the light was equipped with two "powerful locomotive lamps."
- The original light was rebuilt in 1866 with the tower height increased to 26-feet. The tower was built over a storehouse that was later leased out to a sugar company. In 1905 a new wooden tower was constructed, replacing the 1840/1866 tower.
- A new concrete tower was constructed and was placed in operation in 1917.
- In 1996 the Lahaina Restoration Foundation signed a 30 year lease agreement with the Coast Guard and assumed responsibility for maintenance of the site.