Arena Cove Historic District
Arena Cove Historic District is on the northern coast of California, in Mendocino County, just south of Point Arena. The district sits in a small Pacific cove along Port Road, about halfway between San Francisco and Cape Mendocino. The cove’s shape helps amplify storm surges and tsunamis. A small wharf serves local fishermen and visitors.
The district covers about 20 acres (8.1 hectares) and includes ten contributing buildings and three contributing structures. The most architecturally notable building at the time of listing was a Stick/Eastlake style house perched partway up the hillside, which has withstood tsunamis and storms.
Arena Cove and the nearby Point Arena Lighthouse were damaged in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. The wharf was badly damaged by severe storms in 1983 and rebuilt in 1986. Distant earthquakes have caused tsunamis with only mild effects: a 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) wave after the 1946 Aleutian Islands earthquake and a 1.83 m (6 ft) wave after the 1964 Alaska earthquake.
The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places on September 13, 1990, with the reference number 90001363.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 17:21 (CET).