East Brother Light Station

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At the turn of the century, travelers to the Bay Area were faced with a tortuous journey across the swift flowing water of the Carquinez Strait. First to Vallejo, then by ferry to Martinez before tackling the Tunnel Road to Oakland.

East Brother Light Station is a bed and breakfast inn perched atop an island in the straits that separate San Francisco and San Pablo Bays. While only minutes from shore and less than an hour from San Francisco, it is close enough for a weekend jaunt and yet a world away. Accessible only by boat, this island’s closest neighbor is West Brother, an uninhabited island except for water fowl.

The lighthouse was built in 1873, one of 17 eventually constructed in and around San Francisco Bay. The station was manned continuously for 95 years, but in 1969 the light and fog signal were automated to save money. The last Coast Guard crews departed, and the abandoned buildings were left to the ravages of the elements.

In 1973, local preservationists successfully nominated East Brother to the National Register of Historic Places. In 1979, a non-profit corporation organized to preserve this unique piece of history for the use and benefit of the public. Today, volunteers use the income from the bed-and-breakfast inn and other visitor-use programs to maintain the island’s buildings, boats and landscaping.

For more information on East Brother Light Station, see their web site at http://www.ebls.org.