Inspite of all of this, plans for the lighthouse progressed. The schooner Vaquero, brought building materials from San Francisco and Gibbons and Kelly, the contractors hired to build California's lighthouses in 1854. A road was built from Ballast Point to the lighthouse site. Sandstone from the local area was quarried and tiles were salvaged from the Spanish Fort, Guijarros.
A Cape Cod style home was built with the tower protruding from the center of the house. The lantern and lens had not arrived by the time the house was finished. The original tower was built to accommodate Argand lights and parabolic reflectors. The Lighthouse Board switched to Fresnel lenses during the construction. When the third order lens arrived from France, the entire tower had to be rebuilt to accommodate the new lens.
November 15, 1855 James Keating, the first keeper lit the light. The light shone 462 feet above the sea and could be seen a distance of 39 miles out to sea. That is, it could be seen if there was no fog.
Keepers came and went out of Old Point Loma. From the time the light was first lit until it was decommissioned in 1891, there were 11 principal keepers and 22 assistant keepers. In 1871 Robert Isreal took over and stayed at the lighthouse until 1891.
Fog was a major problem. The fog signal consisted of Isreal firing his gun whenever he detected ships too close to shore. On March 23, 1891, the old light was extinguished and New Point Loma, down on the beach was activated.
In 1913 the land where the lighthouse stood became part of the Cabrillo National Monument. By 1933, the National Parks service took over and restored the old lighthouse. During W.W.II, the point was closed to civilians and the lighthouse was painted camouflage green. It was used as a Navy signal tower. By 1946 the lighthouse returned to civilian duty. For the 100 anniversary of the light, the fourth-order Fresnel lens from Table Bluff was installed in the tower. 1957, saw Cabrillo National Monument and the lighthouse as the most visited monument in the United States, including the Statue of Liberty (one of the most famous lighthouses in the world.) In 1980 further restoration was conducted on the old lighthouse. Table Bluff's lens was returned and a third-order lens from Miles Rock in San Francisco was installed. The light turns on at dusk and off at dawn. The light is darkened on the sea side as not to confuse ships at sea.
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