|
| Home | Currently | Tadpole | Pictures | Stuff |
| Page Path: Home / Pictures / Specialized / LightHouses / West / WA_WestPoint / default.aspx |
| This Page is a PRE Phase 9 Page, so the formatting might not be on par with the newer pages in the site. |
| West Point Lighthouse | ||||||||
| < Back to Lighthouses | ||||||||
|
IIn the spring of 1841, the United States Exploring Expedition under the
command of Navy Lieutenant Charles T. Wilkes (1798-1877) entered the
Strait of Juan de Fuca and sailed south into Puget Sound, making charts
and naming many features. He named the prominent shoal West Point,
evidently for the direction in which it lies. This low sand spit, made
by the opposing currents on the sound, was known to the Duwamish Indians
by "Per-co-dus-chule," or "Pka-dzEltcua," which translates “thrusts far
out.”
n 1872, the Lighthouse Board, expecting vessel traffic to increase around Puget Sound and Elliott Bay, recommended that this hazardous shoal be marked with a signal light. Congress eventually appropriated $25,000 for the project and in 1881, the light was built, marking the hazardous shoal and northern entrance into Elliott Bay. Located in Seattle’s Discovery Park at the base of Magnolia Bluff, it is a small squat tower, rising only 23 feet above the low sandy point. |
 |
|||||||
 |
||||||||
 |
 |
|||||||
|
Access is gained through the Park, which was a large portion an old Military Base
(Fort Lawton) that was released back to the city in 1964. The Lighthouse itself was turned over to the city by the US Coast Guard for preservation in 2004. |
||||||||
 |
 |
|||||||
|
The light remains the property of the US Coast Guard, but the buildings
are under the care of the City of Seattle. The complex is largely unchanged since it was installed. All of the buildings are the original structures, and not major modifications or additional buildings have been added. |
||||||||
  |
These two keepers were the first stationed at the lighthouse, Mr. A.
W. Martin and his assistant, Mr. A. Prusham. Prusham, on the
right, is winding the clock mechanism that rotated the light. The lighthouse was automated in 1981, it was the last lighthouse in Washington with a keeper. |
|||||||
 |
||||||||
|
Below is an image of the point, and the light house, with the Magnolia
Bluff in the foreground, taken in 1900. While the site is largely unchanged, its surroundings have seen considerable change. Its nearest neighbor is the West Point Water Treatment plant. |
 |
|||||||
 |
||||||||
 |
 |
|||||||
 |
The original air horns, no longer in use, remain on the roof, and the
generators inside are fully operational, ready to start should the power
cut out. The structures are in very good condition, and command an excellent view of and from the water. |
|||||||
 |
||||||||
 |
 |
|||||||
|
A few years ago, the 4th order Frensel lens was covered for protection,
while the beacon duties have been transferred to a modern automated
light outside the light room. The view from the lighthouse, when looking back at Elliot Bay, and the city of Seattle, is incredible! |
 |
|||||||
 |
||||||||
| < Back to Lighthouses | ||||||||
|
||||||||