The former Point Arguello Long Range Navigation (LORAN) Station is located 12 miles southwest of Lompoc in Santa Barbara County, California. The LORAN station is an abandoned U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) facility currently administered by Vandenberg Air Force Base (VAFB).
Coast Guard, and later, Air Force interest covered 5.7 acres in fee; however, no records could be located which indicate the original means of acquisition of the parcel by the Coast Guard. Records indicate that the parcel was apparently already in control of the USCG before the end of World War II. The parcel was transferred from the USCG to the Army Air Forces (AAF) for Point Arguello Radar Site B-30 by permit dated 30 March 1945, to install and operate an air-transportable LORAN transmitting station. The property was relinquished on 8 July 1948 and transferred back to the USCG on 1 February 1949.
The four buildings which made up the former LORAN station consisted of two crew quarter buildings, a transmitter building, and an equipment building.The exact date of construction is unknown, but is prior to the Army's use of the facility at the end of World War II. All of the buildings, plus a helicopter pad, are still on the site; however, only building 201 is in good condition. Buildings #202, #203, and #204 are in poor condition. All are vacant at this time. The LORAN tower still remains on the site. The AAF operated a portable LORAN transmitter from 1945 to 1948. The USCG took over operation of the permanent LORAN station from 1948 to 1983.
The former LORAN station was restored by the USCG prior to its deactivation and transfer to VAFB on 20 May 1983. The USCG removed all of the equipment, including the transformers and capacitors which were located in the transmitter building.
The site was by the U.S. Air Force as an emergency helicopter landing pad, supporting Space Launch Complex 6. The Air Force improvements remaining on the site include the transmitter building, two crew quarters buildings, an equipment shed, a LORAN transmitting tower, and the helicopter pad. The USCG stated that a full restoration of the site was undertaken prior to the installation's deactivation in 1983.
