Santa Cruz Lighthouse

In 1965 eighteen-year-old Mark Abbott drowned while surfing near the point. His parents used the insurance money to build a brick lighthouse near the site of an older light. "Our family had always loved lighthouses, so we decided it was the best thing to do." (Nelson, p. 69) The lighthouse was completed in 1967. The new lighthouse replaced the wooden tower. The original lantern room was from the Oakland Harbor Light. (The lantern room was replaced in 1996 due to corrosion.) Today, a working optic with a red tint is housed in the lantern room.

The Mark Abbott Memorial Lighthouse is currently home to the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum. The museum was founded in 1985 by Longboard Union members Dave Dyc and Boots McGhee, who received permission to house the museum in the lighthouse. The museum opened in May of 1986, and is a branch of the Santa Cruz Museum of Natural History.