Name and Location

The Makapuʻu Point Lighthouse stands at the easternmost tip of Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi. Its street address is Makapu‘u Lighthouse Road in the Hawaii Kai neighborhood, Honolulu, Honolulu County, Hawaiʻi 96825, United States. The lighthouse's coordinates are 21°18′35.6″ N, 157°38′59.1″ W (decimal: 21.3098988, -157.6497592).

2. Construction and History

The Makapuʻu Point Lighthouse was authorized by the U.S. Congress in 1906 and completed with its first light in March 1910. The original first-order Fresnel lens was shipped from France. In 1974, the lighthouse became automated, and it was added to the National Register of Historic Places (Ref. #77000447) on April 13, 1977.

3. Architecture and Materials

The Makapuʻu Point Lighthouse is an early 20th-century U.S. Lighthouse Board functional design, constructed with a reinforced concrete tower and attached one-story keeper's quarters. The tower height is 48 ft (14.6 m) and is painted white.

4. Light and Navigation

The lighthouse emits an occulting White light every 10 seconds (Oc 10s), visible for 19 nautical miles. Advisory notes indicate that the light may be obscured west of bearing 011° and west of 154° by coastal promontories; an emergency light of reduced intensity activates if the main light is out.

5. Accessibility and Visiting

The Makapuʻu Point Lighthouse is publicly accessible via a paved "Lighthouse Trail" from the Makapu‘u Lookout parking lot (fee parking at Kaiwi Scenic Shoreline). The trail is approximately 2 miles long, with a moderate grade and coastal views. Tower entry is closed to the public, but keeper's quarters are not open.

6. Notable Views and Landscape

The lighthouse offers a panoramic view of the Windward Oʻahu coastline, including offshore islets Manana („Rabbit Island“) and Kāohikaipu. The surrounding landscape features native coastal scrub, seasonal albatross nesting, and occasional humpback whale sightings offshore.

7. Anecdotes and Folklore

The keepers' life at the lighthouse was once a vital part of local culture, with families living on-site and relying on cistern-collected rainwater and gardens for sustenance. The light was commissioned after several shipwrecks on the treacherous Makapuʻu reefs in the late 19th century.

8. Technical and Operational Details

The lighthouse is fully automated since 1974, with routine maintenance performed by the U.S. Coast Guard aids-to-navigation team. The managing agency is the U.S. Coast Guard (Sector Honolulu), with the tower height being approximately 420 ft (128 m) above sea level.

9. Further Information

For further reading and references, please consult the following sources: U.S. Coast Guard Light List Vol. VII (2019), National Park Service: National Register Nomination Form, Makapuʻu Point Light (Ref. #77000447), Wikipedia, and NOAA Nautical Chart 19322 (Hawaiʻi – Oʻahu NE Coast).