Lighthouse Crater Hill Outdoor Classrooms Volunteers Internships Maps   KILAUEA POINT NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE Kilauea Point Lighthouse Kilauea Point is the northernmost outpost of the main Hawaiian Island chain. The U.S. government acquired the point in 1909 and completed the lighthouse in 1913 as a guide to ships arriving from the Orient. The lighthouse was dedicated on May, 1913, with a luau to which everyone in Kilauea town was invited. The lighthouse's Fresnel lens, built in France at a cost of $12,000, was lighted by an oil-vapor lamp. A massive weight, cable, and pulley system, or "clock," turned the lens. Every 3 1/2 hours, keepers rewound the cable on a drum in the basement. Weighted cables then descended slowly down a shaft in the center of the lighthouse, providing the power that turned the 4-ton lens. The design of the lens and clock gave the Kilauea lighthouse its signature, a double flash every ten seconds. The first flight from the mainland to Hawaii nearly ended in disaster when the pilots of the Bird of Paradise overshot the islands. Just before dawn, with the plane low on fuel, they recognized the double flash of the Kilauea lighthouse and turned back to safety. They landed at Wheeler Field on Oahu on June 29, 1927. During World War II, the lighthouse and radio beacon were turned off. With the help of lighthouse staff, a top-secret radar site was operated on Crater Hill. The bunkers can still be seen at the end of the daily guided Crater Hill hike. Over the years, several improvements were made in the lighthouse's equipment. In 1930, a 200-watt radio beacon was installed and the oil vapor lamp was replaced with an electric one, doubling the illumination to half a million candlepower. Later improvements in 1934 and 1958 increased the rating to 2.5 million candlepower. The lighthouse's original clock was replaced with an electric drive, eliminating the need to rewind the cable every 3 1/2 hours. The old clock was maintained as a backup, in case of power failure. In 1976, the Coast Guard decommissioned the Kilauea Point lighthouse and installed an automated electronic beacon. In 1979, the lighthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The lighthouse's sturdy design has allowed it to survive four major hurricanes in the last 42 years with only minor damage. Although Hurricane Iniki severely damaged the neighboring communications building, the structure has been repaired and contains interpretive exhibits relating to this historic lighthouse.