Legend, Lore and The Lighthouse on Beacon Island

The black and white lighthouse on Beacon Island in League City, Texas, adds nostalgia, charm, character and purpose to boaters, pilots and residents of Bay Area Houston from its stately position on the south shore of Clear Lake. The lighthouse is situated on the northern point of this private island, adjacent to Southshore Harbour Marina and midway between downtown Houston and Galveston Island.

The 99-foot lighthouse on Beacon Island intentionally resembles the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse in Florida that was lit for the first time in 1868 and bore witness to the launch of the American space program beginning with the first rocket, Bumper 8, launched on July 24, 1950. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration was established in 1958 through the National Aeronautics and Space Act. Due to the proximity of this lighthouse to the NASA launch sites, all the astronauts of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space programs have soared past the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse as they exited the earth’s atmosphere. Though further up the Florida coast, the space shuttle launches also are visible from the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse.

While many familiar with the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse may have the perception that it has been a quiet companion and stoic witness to the American space program from its very beginning, this lighthouse has been much more than a bystander in America’s quest for space exploration. It is said that German rocket scientist Wernher von Braun stood on the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse’s railed gallery outside its lantern room to observe the early American rocket launches. And Air Force personnel produced a whimsical black and white short film in 1958 entitled “The Lighthouse that Never Fails,” which depicts an Air Force sergeant taking off into space as the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse blasts off like a Saturn rocket.

Rear Admiral Alan Shepard, who is chronicled as the first American to journey into space, was instrumental in the development of the South Shore Harbour master-planned resort community in League City. Shepard served as an advisor to the South Shore Harbour development team in the early 1980s. He routinely flew the South Shore Harbour development team over the Clear Lake area to help them plot the community and track its progress. He influenced the selection of a black-and white-banded lighthouse as the primary symbol for South Shore Harbour--a reminder of the Cape Canaveral Lighthouse, which was the last sight on Earth that Shepard recalled seeing as he blasted off into space. He also was instrumental in attracting celebrities such as actor Bob Hope to South Shore Harbour’s grand opening festivities on July 4, 1983.

For those who may not be familiar with his pioneering background, Alan Shepard was one of the Mercury Seven astronauts named by NASA in April 1959. He earned distinction as the first American launched into space on May 5, 1961 in the Mercury Freedom 7 spacecraft. Shepard and his spacecraft attained an altitude of 116 statute miles and returned to a landing point 302 statute miles down the Atlantic Missile Range. He made his second space flight as spacecraft commander on Apollo 14 from January 31 through February 9, 1971. He logged a total of 216 hours and 57 minutes in space. Shepard retired from NASA and the Navy on August 1, 1974, and entered private business in Houston.

As evidence to support the belief that the South Shore Harbour area of Clear Lake has become known as a “hurricane hole” or “hurricane haven,” the lighthouse on Beacon Island withstood 127-mph gusts from Hurricane Alicia. Hurricane Alicia was a Category 3 storm that made landfall in the early hours of August 18, 1983, only 43 days after South Shore Harbour’s grand opening celebration.

Today, the lighthouse on Beacon Island stands near the southern edge of what is considered protected airspace by NASA and civilian pilots.

Additional References

The Lighthouse that Never Fails
Abstract: A fictional piece of work, the film shows a man taken into space when the lighthouse that he is in launches.
NASA Center: Kennedy Space Center
Publication Year: 1958
Added to NTRS: 2004-11-03
Document ID: 20010021196; Report Number: NONP-NASA-VT-2001023129

Webcast: “Bumper: The Story Behind the First Launches From the Cape”
Date unknown
Space enthusiasts from all over the world submitted questions to program guests Stan Starr, Liz Bain and Norris Gray. The questions were answered during the show.
Q: When visiting the KSC lighthouse recently, I don't remember a launch stand nearby. Where exactly was Bumper launched from?
A: Bumper was launched on a pad that was about a mile from the lighthouse. There was just no way in-between that, as far as I'm concerned. It was quite a distance to walk, I know that.

THE REAL SPACE COWBOYS
by Ed Buckbee with Wally Schirra
2005, 200p., soft cover, ISBN 1894959213
Includes bonus DVD-10 with rare film footage: including documentary – “The Lighthouse Never Fails”