Vallarta Malecon Lighthouse in downtown Puerto Vallarta

The Puerto Vallarta Malecon Lighthouse (Faro del Malecón in Spanish), located on the corner of Galeana and Morelos Streets, has been an integral part of the city’s history since it was built in 1932.

This beacon, along with its twin located almost 200 meters away, served to guide and orient boats and ships arriving to PV until the 1970s, when the El Salado harbor began operation.

The beacon on the Malecon is a useful city marker and the one up the hill, the Vallarta Lighthouse on Matamoros Street, has a staircase and access to a nice city lookout.

The lighthouse beacon in the early 1950s

The Vallarta Malecon Lighthouse is a historical site at the corner of Galeana Street and Morelos Street in the downtown area. It has been an integral part of the city’s history since it was built.

This square pyramid-shaped beacon, which was put up on August 15, 1932, stands about 8 meters tall and has black and white 1-meter bars that stand out during the day. During the night, a diotric beacon with acetylene equipment was used to light it up. This was a vital tool for guiding the boats that arrived at the tourist destination for nearly four decades.

The Puerto Vallarta Malecon lighthouse is a reminder of the city’s maritime history, and the beacon can still be seen from the shore. We must remember that Vallarta has been a harbor right from its foundation; it’s also the reason for the “Puerto” harbor in its name.

Before/After: The Night of the Iguana & 50 years later

The lighthouse has a twin range marker to the east, but you can’t see where it is from the Malecon right now. However, in the past and from the sea, it was easy to see it located on Matamoros Street between Mina and Galeana streets. Both lighthouses served the boats that arrived at Puerto Vallarta until August 20, 1970, when the Estero El Salado Maritime Harbor was put into operation.

As was said, there is another lighthouse on Matamoros Street, which is 193 meters in a straight line from the Malecon lighthouse. This second lighthouse/beacon, the “Vallarta Lighthouse Matamoros Street“, was used together with the one on the boardwalk to guide the boats in the area and was in service until June 1978, when it was decommissioned.

The lighthouse/beacon on the Puerto Vallarta boardwalk is a good way for tourists to find their way around and a minor attraction that many people walk by without even noticing. The beacon on Matamoros is more of an attraction; not only can visitors climb up the stairs to the top of the lighthouse, but it also offers a great view of the downtown area and the surrounding coastline and Banderas Bay.

The range marker/beacon and Galeana/Morelos streets

The Puerto Vallarta Malecon lighthouse, along with its twin beacon, has been a vital part of the city’s history for many decades. Not only did it serve as a guide for the boats that arrived in Puerto Vallarta, but it is also a reminder of the city’s past.

The lighthouses of Puerto Vallarta on Galeana and Matamoros are a testament to the city’s seafaring history and the importance of lighthouses in pre-GPS times. The beacon also symbolizes the city’s connection to the sea and its impact on navigation and trade. Although the lighthouses are no longer in service, they still stand as historical markers.

“This beacon, inaugurated on August 15, 1932, served during the day with a black and white bar marker. During the day it served with a black and white bar signaling system. At night a an acetylene lit dioptric beacon was used.

At 193 meters from this point there is another beacon on Matamoros Street.

Both of them concluded their service to the boats when the Port in the El Salado estuary started operating on August 20, 1970.

Honorable Constitutional City Council 1995-1997”

Puerto Vallarta’s Malecon and lighthouse seen from Hotel Oceano (2nd half 1950s)

You’ll find the lighthouse on the Puerto Vallarta Malecón (Boardwalk) right on the corner of Galeana Street and Morelos Street in downtown PV.

In the past it was right beside what was the first hotel in the town, Hotel Gutiérrez that moved over from it’s location on Juárez Avenue. It later changed name and was known as Hotel Océano.

Walking up or down the Malecon, you’ll invariably walk by it.

The Puerto Vallarta Malecon lighthouse is a reminder of the city’s past. It stands along with the other range maker, the Vallarta Lighthouse on Matamoros Street, as testaments to the importance of the sea, maritime connections, sea trade, and the value the bay and its richness have for Puerto Vallarta.

The lighthouse’s dioptric beacon (no longer in use)