Diamond Head Lighthouse

Diamond Head Lighthouse
Diamond Head Lighthouse
Location3399 Diamond Head Rd.
Honolulu, Hawaii
Coordinates21°15′20.7″N 157°48′34.5″W / 21.255750°N 157.809583°W / 21.255750; -157.809583
Tower
Constructed1898 (first)
Constructionconcrete tower
Height57 feet (17 m)
Shapesquare pyramidal tower with circular balcony and lantern
Markingswhite tower, red lantern dome
OperatorUnited States Coast Guard
HeritageNational Register of Historic Places listed place Edit this on Wikidata
Light
First lit1917 (current)
Focal height147 feet (45 m)
LensBarbier et Bénard 3rd order Fresnel lens
Rangewhite: 17 nautical miles (31 km; 20 mi)
red: 14 nautical miles (26 km; 16 mi)
CharacteristicOc (2) WR 10s.
U.S. Coast Guard Diamond Head Lighthouse
Location3399 Diamond Head Rd., Honolulu, Hawaii
Coordinates21°15′25″N 157°48′34″W / 21.25694°N 157.80944°W / 21.25694; -157.80944
Built1917
NRHP reference No.80001282
Added to NRHPOctober 31, 1980

Diamond Head Lighthouse is a United States Coast Guard facility located on Diamond Head in Honolulu, on the island of Oʻahu in the State of Hawaiʻi.

The lighthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1980, and was featured on a United States postage stamp in June 2007.

History

Originally constructed on a 40-foot (12 m) iron tower enclosed with coral rock walls, the lighthouse was first lit on July 1, 1899, with John M. Kaukaliu as the first keeper. The Lighthouse Board took control of the lighthouse in 1904. In 1917, the lantern room was moved to a temporary metal framework while a new 55-foot (17 m) reinforced concrete tower was built on the original foundation.

The adjacent residence was built in 1921 and lighthouse operations were automated in 1924. The superintendent of the 19th lighthouse district lived there until 1939, when the coast guard took control and built a radio station there during World War II.

In a 2014 interview, 94-year-old veteran Melvin Bell described serving as the radio operator at the Diamond Head station during the Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor, and the steps he took to warn civilian vessels of the attack.

Present

Since the war, the residence has become the private home for commanders of the coast guard's Oceania district (formerly the 14th district).

The lighthouse is featured in the 2021 music video for Katy Perry's song "Electric", which is a collaboration between Perry and Pokémon.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
  2. ↑ Yap, Brittany P. (June 22, 2007). "Isle lighthouse graces postage stamp". Honolulu Star-Bulletin. Retrieved February 28, 2009.
  3. 1 2 "Diamond Head Lighthouse Notes". Mariners' Museum and Park. Retrieved May 21, 2026. citing Dean, Love. The Lighthouses of Hawaii (1986).
  4. ↑ C. Douglas Kroll (March 25, 2014). "Interview of ETCM Melvin Kealoha Bell, USCG (Retired)" (PDF). US Coast Guard. Retrieved November 8, 2019.
  5. ↑ Fawcett, Denby (April 21, 2015). "Admiral's Spouse Is the Man of the House". Honolulu Civil Beat. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  6. ↑ "Coast Guard renames operational districts". United States Coast Guard. July 3, 2025. Retrieved May 21, 2026.
  7. ↑ Hosken, Patrick. "How Katy Perry, Pikachu, And Her Doppelgänger Went 'Electric' In Hawaii". MTV News. Archived from the original on June 7, 2021. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
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