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Lighthouse, Green Point
Green Point, Cape Town, Western Cape

Herman SCHUTTE: Architect

Date:1820 - 1824 : 1865
Type:Lighthouse
Status:Extant

 


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Coordinates:
33°54'05.02" S 18°23'59.58" E Alt: 7m

(Afr N & N Dec 1945:31, note 24)

Construction work started on 14 September 1821, and the lighthouse was officially opened on 12 April 1824. It originally consisted of a tower surmounted by two lanterns. The present light was erected in 1865, improved in 1906 and electrified in 1929. Standing 65 feet [19,8 meters] above high water, it has an intensity of 850 000 candelas and a range of 13 ¾ miles [22 km]. A foghorn was installed in 1926.
(From: Gov Gazette 3757, Notice 34, dated 12 Jan 1973.)

It first burned with Argand lamps fuelled by sperm whale oil. The lighthouse was heightened in 1865. In 1922 a dioptric flashing light was installed.
(From notes by Dr Antonia Malan for the Vernacular Architecture Society of SA, 2022)

The lighthouse was declared a National Monument in 1973 and is now a Provincial Heritage Site.

All truncated references not fully cited below are those of Joanna Walker's original text and cited in full in the 'Bibliography' entry of the Lexicon.


Books that reference Lighthouse, Green Point

Fransen, Hans & Cook, Mary Alexander. 1965. The old houses of the Cape : a survey of the existing buildings in the traditional style of architecture of the Dutch-settled regions of the Cape of Good Hope. Cape Town: AA Balkema. pg 21
Gaylard, Shaun & McDougall, Brett . 2022. RSA 365 : 365 Drawings of South African Architecture. Johannesburg: Blank Ink Design. pg 38, 39 ill
Hoberman, Gerald. 2011. Lighthouses of South Africa : pocket edition. Cape Town - London - New York: The Gerald & Marc Hoberman Collection. pg 18-19 ill, 20 ill, 21
Langham-Carter, RR. 1979. Nineteenth century architects etc. in the Western Cape. Cape Town: Unpublished MS, UCT Library. pg 22
Murray, Marischal. 1964. Under Lion's Head : Earlier days at Green Point and Sea Point. Cape Town: AA Balkema. pg front cover ill.
Walker, Michael. 2012. Early architects of Cape Town and their buildings (1820 - 1926) with postcard illustrations, The. St James: Michael Walker. pg 7-8
Williams, Harold. 1993. Southern Lights : Lighthouses of Southern Africa. Cape Town: William Waterman Publications. pg 1-7