Point Retreat Light

Point Retreat Light is a lighthouse located on the Mansfield Peninsula at the northern tip of Admiralty Island in southeastern Alaska, United States. It provides aid in navigation through the Lynn Canal.

Point Retreat Light
Point Retreat Light Station in 2001
Alaska
LocationAdmiralty Island
Lynn Canal
Alaska
United States
Coordinates58°24′41″N 134°57′18″W
Year first constructed1904 (first)
Year first lit1923
Automated1973
Foundationconcrete
Constructionreinforced concrete tower
Tower shapesquare tower with balcony and lantern on fog signal building
Markings / patternart deco archirecture,
white tower, black lantern
Tower height25 feet (7.6 m)
Focal height63 feet (19 m)
Original lensFirst order bivalve Fresnel lens
Current lens300 mm lens
Light sourcesolar power
Range9 nautical miles (17 km; 10 mi)
CharacteristicFl W 6s.
Admiralty numberG6528
ARLHS numberALK-010
USCG number6-23955
Managing agentUnited States Coast Guard[1] [2]
Heritageplace listed on the National Register of Historic Places 
Point Retreat Light Station
Alaska Heritage Resources Survey
Nearest cityJuneau, Alaska
Area1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built1924
ArchitectU.S. Lighthouse Service
Architectural styleModerne
MPSLight Stations of the United States MPS
NRHP reference No.03000529[3]
AHRS No.JUN-00084
Added to NRHPJune 19, 2003

Naming

Point Retreat was named by Joseph Whidbey on July 19, 1794 because of his need to retreat from local Tlingit.[4]

History

Point Retreat was set aside as a 1,505-acre (609 ha) lighthouse reserve in 1901 by executive order of President William McKinley, but the point had to wait for its lighthouse due to inadequate funding. Point Retreat was first lit in 1904 and displayed a fixed white light. The first Point Retreat Lighthouse was a six-foot-tall hexagonal wooden tower, topped by a hexagonal lantern room. In 1917, Point Retreat was stripped of its personnel and downgraded to a minor light until 1924, when a new combination lighthouse and fog signal was built. The lantern was removed in the 1950s and a solar-powered 300 mm lens was installed on a post attached to the tower. In 1973 the light was again unmanned and downgraded to a minor light again.

In 2003 the light was added to the National Register of Historic Places.[3][5]

  • USCG archive photo
  • without lantern – USCG archive photo
  • in 2011

See also

References
  1. Point Retreat The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 8 June 2016
  2. Alaska Historic Light Station Information & Photography United States Coast Guard. Retrieved 8 June 2016
  3. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  4. Wagner, Henry (1937). The Cartography of the Northwest Coast of America to the Year 1800. Berkeley: University of California Press. p. 385.
  5. David Benton (May 1, 2003). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Point Retreat Light Station / Point Retreat Lighthouse AHRS Site No. JUN-00084". National Park Service. and accompanying photos


This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.