US - Pigeon Point Lighthouse

Pigeon Point Light Station, California, United States:

Perched on a cliff on the central California coast, 50 miles south of San Francisco, the 115-foot Pigeon Point Lighthouse, one of the tallest lighthouses in America, has been guiding mariners since 1872. Its five-wick lard oil lamp, and first-order Fresnel lens, comprised of 1,008 prisms, was first lit at sunset, November 15, 1872. The lens stands 16 feet tall, 6 feet in diameter, and weighs 8,000 pounds. It sits in a lantern room that had been constructed at the Lighthouse Service's general depot in New York before being shipped around the Horn. Although the original Fresnel lens is no longer in use, the lighthouse is still an active U.S. Coast Guard aid to navigation using a 24 inch Aero Beacon. - California State Parks

Needs some paint.

This is a little more dramatic photo of the lighthouse:

Once per year at the Pigeon Point Lighthouse they shut down the weak insipid modern (presumably electric) light and switch over the the 5 kerosene lamps and fresnel lens of the original, as it was 135 years ago.

Last night was the night, and it's really quite a sight. When they fire it up there's really a collective sense of "whoa!" from the audience (which was WAY bigger than I expected - I probably had to park a mile away and I was there an hour early). - MumbleyJoe's photos, Flickr

Go read the rest on how he managed to take the photo. Here is some more on the light source:

The lantern room of the tower is equipped with the original first-order Fresnel lens. Infrequently used today, the lens has 24 flash panels, is composed of 1008 hand-polished lenses and prisms, and is capable of producing over 500,000 candlepower illumination. It was manufactured by the Henry-LePaute company in Paris, and was first lit at Pigeon Point at sunset on November 15, 1872.

Originally the tower was equipped with a lamp that burned refined lard oil. In 1888, that lamp was replaced with a mineral oil (kerosene) lamp. To produce Pigeon Point's assigned characteristic of 1 white flash of light every 10 seconds, the four ton lens rotated one time every four minutes. When observed from a distance, this resulted in the appearance of one white flash of light every 10 seconds. The lens rotation was originally powered by a clockwork and weight. In 1926 the lighthouse was provided electricity. Modern innovations were incorporated and the kerosene IOV lamp was replaced by a 1000 watt bulb, the clockwork by an electric motor, and an electrically operated fog signal was eventually installed. - Wiki

Lighthouses are of course meant to be lit, not that you would know it with 99% of lighthouse photos taken during the day!

H/t to Never Sea Land where I originally spotted this lighthouse.