East Brother Light Station, Inc., a nonprofit corporation, is seeking applicants for keepers of East Brother Light Station, a small island in San Francisco Bay that is the home of an intact 1874 lighthouse and fog signal. After more than two years of distinguished service, the current keepers, Richard Foregger and Jude Haukom, will be leaving in September 2014.
East Brother Light Station, built in 1874, is located just off Richmond’s western shoreline. Photo by Joel Williams
The successful candidates for this extraordinarily unique job opportunity will be a couple, one of whom must possess a Coast Guard commercial boat operator’s license. They will operate the five-room inn, serving both dinner and breakfast, as well as providing ferry service for guests and performing all other tasks from chef to maid. High-quality culinary experience and capability will be a critical qualification. The inn is open four days a week, and the island is also available for day use and special events. The new keepers will start in late September 2014.
Compensation is a function of the level of business, occupancy level and the economy. In in the last three years it has ranged from $80,000 - $100,000, trending upward, for the couple. Compensation includes a health plan and living quarters on the island. Interested persons can download an application at www.tombutt.com/pdf/ebls application.doc.
The keepers’ jobs reflect a unique mix of maritime history and modern hospitality. As guests arrive in the afternoon, they are welcomed by the innkeepers and shown to the parlor for champagne and hors d’oeuvres. As the sun begins to set, guests are welcome to ascend the spiral staircase to the lighthouse tower to catch a view of the shimmering San Francisco skyline.
Five rooms are available, with four having been former keepers’ quarters, and they are located in the historic lighthouse itself. Each room, named for its view, has unique décor and a queen-size bed. One smaller and more rustic room, known as Walter’s Quarters, is in the fog signal building. Being apart from the main building, it offers a unique sense of privacy. The nightly dinner served by the keepers is always a fine experience in haute cuisine. Those who want to visit the island without staying the night—for a picnic or to fish or just for an interesting excursion—can take a $15 day trip on Saturdays during the summer months, beginning in May.
When overnight guests or visitors step onto East Brother Island, they take a step back into maritime history. In the mid-1800s, it was determined a lighthouse was needed to safely guide ships through the two-and-a-half mile waterway that connected San Francisco and the Pacific Ocean with Stockton, Sacramento and Vallejo’s Mare Island Navy Yard. In 1873, the light station was commissioned by the federal government in order to prevent vessels from straying off course in the dark or in the fog.
But the facility almost met its demise in the late 1960s, when the Coast Guard equipped the lighthouse with an automatic rotating beacon to cut staffing and maintenance costs.
Since the automated beacon no longer required the island be manned, the government announced that the old buildings would be demolished and a steel or concrete tower would be installed in their place to house the light. However, a group of Richmond residents vowed to save the beloved, old landmark. In 1971, East Brother Light Station was placed on the National Register of Historic Places. The station was saved from the wrecking ball, but no funds were available to restore or maintain the buildings. Throughout the 1970s, the structures fell into disrepair.
Eight years later, East Brother Light Station, a nonprofit citizens group, was formed in Richmond to restore the old buildings. The citizens’ group raised money through private donations and matching government grants, and with the help of hundreds of volunteers, the equivalent of $300,000 was put into the project. Rehabilitation and restoration was completed by 1980. Even the powerful diaphone fog horn—originally installed in 1934—still honks with the trademark two-tone bee-ooh sound.
The full history of the light station and the many colorful characters that have worked as keepers is available in the book, East Brother: History of an Island Light Station, which may be accessed, along with other information, online at www.ebls.org.
