West-Point

Chris J LeBlanc Photography - Lighthouses

Providing details and historical information of lighthouse pictures taken during my travels

West Point Lighthouse

Seattle, Washington

Location: Located in Discovery Park, six miles northwest of Seattle.

Latitude: N 47.66198

Longitude: W 122.43574

Year Constructed: 1881. Active

Tower Height: 23 feet Focal Plane: 27 feet

Stucco-clad brick tower with lantern and gallery, attached to a 1-story office and 1-story fog signal building (1906). Original 4th order Fresnel lens in use. Lighthouse painted white, lantern roof red.

Historical Information:

Station Established: 1881

Year Current Tower(s) First Lit: 1881

Operational? YES

Automated? YES 1984

Foundation Materials: NATURAL/EMPLACED

Construction Materials: BRICK/STUCCO

Tower Shape: OCT/SQUARE ATTACHED TO SIGNAL BLDG

Markings/Pattern: WHITE W/RED ROOF

Original Lens: FOURTH ORDER, FRESNEL 1881

Situated at the end of a low, sandy point, which extends into Puget Sound from the base of Magnolia Bluff, the West Point Lighthouse still sends out alternating red and white flashes. Still standing near the lighthouse are two spacious dwellings built for the keepers at the station.

In 1979, the station was slated for automation, but the wish of Marvin Gerber, the keeper at the time, to have the lighthouse still be manned for its centennial came true when the automation was postponed. After all the other lighthouses in the state of Washington had been automated, the West Point Lighthouse finally succumbed to automation in 1985.

The West Point Lighthouse is now part of Discovery Park, Seattle's largest city park. Also included in Discovery Park is Fort Lawton, built by the Army on Magnolia Bluff around the turn of the nineteenth century. In late 2002, the West Point Lighthouse was declared surplus by the federal government under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000. The city of Seattle was awarded ownership of the lighthouse in 2004.