Fort Point Light (San Francisco)

The Fort Point Light you see today is actually the third lighthouse to stand on this treacherous stretch of the Golden Gate. The first was constructed in 1853, but it stood for only three months before the military demolished it to make way for the massive brick fortress itself. Engineers had to blast the original ninety-foot cliff down to just fifteen feet above the water so the fort could accurately target enemy ships at their waterline. This final iron tower was placed directly atop the fort's seaward wall in 1864, serving as a vital navigational beacon for ships entering the bay until the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge rendered it obsolete in 1934.