If keeping an uber-cozy lighthouse in a frequently fog-begotten bay sounds like your dream job, East Brother Light Station in the heart of San Francisco Bay is hiring.
Oh yes, there will be snug-as-a-bug evenings by the fireplace on the rocky atoll when the fog rolls in during winter months—past occupants have said they “wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.” But holding the station has tested the best of them too, hence they added they “would never do it again!”
“It’s really hard work,” the Mayor of Richmond at the time, Tom Butt, whose tenure just ended, told The Epoch Times.
The job entails ferrying guests to and from the island, slinging hors d'oeuvre, changing sheets, and showing the historic lighthouse. Butt, who manages the lighthouse, is now accepting applications from innkeeper hopefuls.
“It’s an intense job,” he added, elaborating how couples with complimentary skillsets are typically chosen to man the outpost. “There are two key qualifications: One of them has to have a U.S. Coast Guard commercial boat operation license.
“And the second one is, we look for people with some culinary experience.”
Your Typical Week as a Frisco Bay Lighthouse Innkeeper
Successful applicants will run not only logistical operations but also a bed and breakfast that sees some 40 visitors per week. Don’t sweat it—island upkeep and maintenance is handled by a team of volunteers, so no worries there.The work week starts at 4 p.m. Thursday. As a licensed boat skipper, you will ferry guests from mainland Richmond to the lighthouse. Your experience in the hospitality industry will help furnish them with refreshments, champagne, and delicious dinners before they retire into their comfy, well-kept rooms for the evening. Visitors will enjoy the lighthouse dream come true.
The best room runs for about $535, including dinner and everything else—a bargain considering what mainland Bay Area hotels run for.
Rising early, you'll fix breakfast and give the tour. That includes demonstrating the lighthouse’s antique foghorn, showing them the light tower, and exploring the rest of the rock in the misty morn. “It’s quite a nice experience,” Butt said. “It’s got unparalleled views.” There are sea lions that appear sometimes on the pier, while ducks, geese, and gulls nest here also. Besides natural beauty and solitude, the Victorian-era architecture oozes historic charm.
The Pay and Perks of Keeping a Lighthouse
So, having the requisite licensing, skillset, and stamina, innkeepers are paid $140,000, plus health coverage and insurance. Notable perks include free food and rent, which isn’t insignificant considering rent can run as high as two or three grand a month locally.Passing the Lighthouse Torch
Traditionally, the post has been filled by couples; for decades, large families occupied the lighthouse. East Brother Light Station’s last big hiring was in 2018 when they received thousands of applications from across the globe—from as far as Mongolia, China, and Russia.They sorted through them all and ended up with just 60 qualified candidates.
But after COVID shut them down, after reopening, the number of applications the lighthouse received was exactly zero. Butt ended up landing former lighthouse keepers Stephanie and Bryon Wesolek back on the island for a year, before asking them to stay for another.
149 Years and Running
Originally built in 1874, East Brother Light Station was first run by the United States Lighthouse Service, which merged with the United States Coast Guard in 1939.The Coast Guard considered abandoning the lighthouse in the late ’60s and it was almost demolished, but they transferred it instead—with several other lighthouses—to the National Register of Historic Places in 1971.
When California passed the Property Tax Reform Act in 1977, the lighthouse’s funding was cut. But activists saved it, and the non-profit East Brother Light Station corporation was established in 1979 to manage it, headed up by Tom Butt, then a corporate executive.
They raised funds and in 1980 rebuilt it and turned it into a bed and breakfast, the hope being that tourism would keep it “afloat” financially. They raised more cash in 2021 to replace a damaged undersea electrical cable.
Almost a century-and-a-half since the lighthouse’s founding, while plenty has changed for those living in the Bay Area, East Brother Light Station remains an anchorage from the tempests of time.
“It’s only an hour away from 10 million people,” Butt said. “And yet, once you’re there, not only does it seem you’re a world away geographically, but it’s a world away chronologically.
“You’re back in another century.”
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