Page 3 - The Friday Flyer ● JULY 27, 2018

JULY 27, 2018 THE FRIDAY FLYER A-3

The photo
shows the
Canyon Lake
lighthouse as it
was being built.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY ELINOR MARTIN PHOTO PROVIDED BY ELINOR MARTIN of the Nantuck-
The lighthouse is
a scale replica

et lighthouse
at Brant Point
in Nantucket,

(inset photo).
The strip of sand connecting the lighthouse to the lodge area can be seen in this 1968 photo. The lodge Massachusetts
can be seen at the right.
Looking back on the history of the lighthouse

The Friday Flyer looks back at the about midnight and arriving at daylight. and instructed him to build it. I do not
history of Canyon Lake’s iconic light- The meetings were always early morn- recall that we had any plans prepared for
house, from its beginnings and the inspi- ing and then I sometimes had the rest of it, he just built it from the photo. He did
ration behind it. the day free before taking the evening a great job, it turned out well and I was
Back in the fall of 1968, Corona Land plane back to California,” recalled Gor- very pleased with it.”
Company, the company that developed don. The original photo Gordon gave Dale
Canyon Lake, announced in its periodic “I usually used this rare free time to
publication, Canyon Lake News, that visit different historical sites in the Bos- has been lost with the passage of time.
“Riverside County’s first lighthouse ton area. One of these occasions, I took “When the lighthouse was finished,
would make its debut shortly in pictur- an extra day and drove to Cape Cod and I believe it was the first and only light-
esque Holiday Bay.” took the ferry to Nantucket Island. The house in Riverside County. From the be-
Built on a 40 ft. in diameter man- small lighthouse at the harbor was a ginning of construction, it was a much-
made island made of Santa Ana slate, beautiful sight as the ferry pulled in to photographed landmark. I hope the
the lighthouse is a scale replica of the the island. As I recall, after we landed I community will see that is well main-
famed Nantucket Lighthouse at Brant walked to the lighthouse and took sev- tained and preserved. It would be won-
Point in Nantucket, Massachusetts. En- eral photos of it. I later learned there are derful if, in the future, someone in the
closed at the pinnacle of the lighthouse three lighthouses on Nantucket Island, community would lead the way to it be-
is a 360-degree circulating beacon. The but the one I visited was located at Brant
lighthouse was not intended to be a Point.” ing designated as a Historic Landmark
warning guide for Canyon Lake boaters, A few weeks later when Gordon was so that it will remain for future genera-
rather it was to create more of an atmo- at Canyon Lake reviewing construction tions of Canyon Lakers to enjoy,” said
sphere and add to the picturesque views and excavation progress, the idea came Gordon.
of Canyon Lake. to him that a lighthouse like the one he As Gordon hoped, the lighthouse
As the POA was preparing to cel- had seen on Nantucket Island would be has become a symbol for Canyon Lake.
ebrate its 40 year anniversary in 2008, a picturesque and unique feature to add Since the beginning of construction, the
Gordon Heath, president of the Corona to the lake. lighthouse has been photographed from
Land Company, visited the community “It was obvious to me that the lo- every angle in many types of weather
and contacted The Friday Flyer to dis- cation should be a point where the and water levels.
cuss the community’s iconic landmark. newly excavated east branch met the In May 2018, the iconic 50-year-old
“While I was planning the develop- main body of the lake. That was the PHOTO BY DONNA RITCHIE
ment of Canyon Lake and during its most prominent site and the best to aid lighthouse underwent major changes.
construction, I made numerous trips to in nighttime boating,” Gordon said. The aged red top was replaced by a new
Boston, Massachusetts, for business “Soon after, I gave our Superintendent blue top and other aesthetic repairs were
meetings regarding the project. Invari- Dale Eckert one of the photos I had tak- made to the structure to restore its pres- In 2016, the iconic lighthouse was in need of
ably I took the ‘red-eye special,’ leaving en of the lighthouse at Nantucket Island tige. repairs.

PHOTO BY CHRIS PAPAVERO PHOTO BY DONNA RITCHIE

POA Operations crew refurbish the lighthouse in May 2018. The lighthouse as it looks today.

THE FRIDAY FLYER

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