Towering 195 feet above the ocean at Point Arena, this lighthouse on the California Coast was closed to the public by the Coast Guard in 1977, but its majestic beauty and iconic nature inspired local residents to re-open it in the early 1980s. Today, the historic, 6,000-pound Fresnel lens is deteriorating, and once again local people are rallying to save this irreplaceable part of their small town identity.

The Light at Point Arena tells the story of one of the tallest lighthouses on the California Coast, located 135 miles north of San Francisco. Built in 1870, and featuring a historic Ist Order Fresnel lens, the lighthouse was destroyed by the Great California Quake of 1906, and rebuilt in a smokestack style the first of its kind in the United States. Although the U.S. Coast Guard stopped rotating the historic Fresnel lens and closed the light station to the public in 1977, the iconic nature of the majestic tower inspired the residents of Point Arena to re-open the light station, build a museum and most recently -- restore the lens. This documentary tells the story of a lighthouse that is inextricably linked with the unique and independent characters that populate the remote town of Point Arena.