Rain Shed

 water catchment area  Add category

Built in 1932 and abandoned in 1933, the 30,000 square foot rainshed, a cement slab of irregular shape a short distance behind the tank house, was shaped to funnel rainwater down to the water tanks. Other light stations with similar water supply problems, such as Point Reyes, took advantage of rainsheds like this. It was only irregularly used because of the amount of guano deposited by seabirds and instead serves as an emergency heliport. Construction of the rainshed required installation of a berm on its northwestern end. The concrete surface, now cracked with vegetation and damaged by sinkholes, has been patched with tar. A curb wall at the down slope edges of the rainshed ranges from one to 2 1/2 feet in height. A six-inch galvanized pipe exits the drain and a valve can be found about 35 feet from the drain.