After its abandonment the lighthouse deteriorated. In 1913 President Woodrow Wilson dedicated the lighthouse and a half-acre of land as Cabrillo National Monument, for the purpose of erecting a large statue of Juan Rodriguez Cabrillo. However, no such statue was actually built for several decades. In 1935 the lighthouse underwent a major renovation and a new road to the monument was constructed. In 1949 a statue of Cabrillo, donated by the government of Portugal, was installed on land near the lighthouse.