Browns Point Light
The Browns Point Lighthouse is a lighthouse located near Tacoma on Browns Point at the east entrance to Puget Sound's Commencement Bay, Pierce County, Washington.[3]
Location | Browns Point, Washington |
---|---|
Coordinates | 47°18′21.3″N 122°26′39.4″W |
Tower | |
Constructed | 1887 |
Foundation | Concrete |
Construction | Concrete |
Automated | 1963 |
Height | 34 feet (10 m) (38 feet (12 m) above sea level) |
Shape | Square without lantern |
Heritage | National Register of Historic Places listed place |
Light | |
First lit | 1933 (current tower); 1903 (previous tower);[1] 1887 (first structure) |
Focal height | 12 m (39 ft) |
Lens | VRB-25 |
Range | 12 nautical miles (22 km; 14 mi) |
Characteristic | Flashing white light every 5s, Light obscured from 217° to 002°. HORN: 2 blasts ev 30s (2s bl-2s si-2s bl-24s si). |
Browns Point Lighthouse and Keeper's Cottage | |
Nearest city | Tacoma, Washington |
Area | 2.5 acres (1.0 ha) |
Built | 1933 |
Architectural style | Modernistic |
NRHP reference No. | 89000208[2] |
Added to NRHP | February 16, 1989 |
History
Cupy the first light station on Browns Point, erected in 1887, consisted of a white light lens lantern on a white post that stood 12 feet (3.7 m) above sea level and 50 yards from the low tide shoreline.[4] A wood-frame lighthouse and separate keepers cottage were built in 1901. The current lighthouse was built in 1933 and automated in 1963.[5] The lighthouse plus the original keeper's cottage, oil house and boathouse are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.[6]
Public access
The Points Northeast Historical Society rents out the keeper's cottage with the renter serving as an honorary lightkeeper who conducts lighthouse tours on Saturday afternoons.[7] The Society also operates two museums by the lighthouse: the History Center with changing history exhibits and the Boat House Museum with displays of a replica surfboat and maritime artifacts.[8][9] The lighthouse is on the grounds of Browns Point Lighthouse Park which offers picnicking and scenic vistas of sea traffic and mountains.[10]
References
- "13th Coast Guard District Lighthouses". 13th Coast Guard District. January 1996. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
- "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
- "Browns Point Light". Inventory of Historic Light Stations: Washington Lighthouses. National Park Service. Archived from the original on April 7, 2004. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
- "History of Browns Point Lighthouse Park". Metro Parks Tacoma. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
- "Historic Light Station Information & Photography: Washington". U.S. Coast Guard. November 17, 2014. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
- "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form". National Park Service. February 16, 1989. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
- "Light Keeper's Cottage Rental". Points Northeast Historical Society. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
- "Browns Point, WA". Lighthousefriends. Archived from the original on April 27, 2015. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
- McClary, Daryl C. (March 19, 2014). "Browns Point Light Station". The Online Encyclopedia of Washington State History. HistoryLink. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
- "Browns Point Lighthouse". Seattle and Sound. Archived from the original on April 3, 2015. Retrieved April 20, 2015.
More reading
- Sharlene Nelson & Ted Nelson (1998). Umbrella Guide to Washington Lighthouses. Epicenter Press. ISBN 9780945397700.
External links
- Media related to Browns Point Light at Wikimedia Commons
- Browns Point Lighthouse Park Metro Parks Tacoma
- Points Northeast Historical Society