Point Vicente Lighthouse was built in 1926, following years of complaints by shippers about the dangerous waters around the Palos Verdes peninsula. It was constructed using a Parisian Fresnel lens with a width of , which had been in use in Alaska since its construction in 1886. In 1934 the Long Beach Radio Station opened in a neighboring building, which was used to monitor for distress signals. The light source was dimmed to just 25 watts during World War II to avoid aiding the enemy. It was automated in 1971, and the radio station was closed in 1980. In 2015, the Coast Guard announced its intention to replace the original third order lens with an LED light with a 14 nm range, replacing the current light and lens. In February 2019 the lens was removed from the light room.