Tree Point Light
The Tree Point Light is a lighthouse located adjacent to Revillagigedo Channel in Southeast Alaska, United States. It is located near the southernmost point of mainland Alaska.
Current lighthouse, completed in 1935 | |
Alaska | |
Location | Revillagigedo Channel, Alaska |
---|---|
Coordinates | 54°48′10″N 130°56′02″W |
Year first constructed | 1905 (first) |
Year first lit | 1935 (current) |
Automated | 1969 |
Foundation | concrete |
Construction | reinforced concrete tower |
Tower shape | square tower with lantern attached to oil house |
Markings / pattern | art deco architecture, white tower, red lantern |
Tower height | 58 feet (18 m) |
Focal height | 86 feet (26 m) |
Original lens | Fourth order Fresnel lens |
Current lens | VRB-25 lens |
Light source | solar power |
Range | 9 nautical miles (17 km; 10 mi) |
Characteristic | Fl W 6s. obscured from 158° to 318° |
Admiralty number | G6002 |
ARLHS number | ALK-012 |
USCG number | 6-21840 |
Managing agent | United States Coast Guard[1] [2] |
Heritage | place listed on the National Register of Historic Places |
Tree Point Lighthouse | |
Alaska Heritage Resources Survey
| |
Nearest city | Ketchikan, Alaska |
Area | 76.5 acres (31.0 ha) |
Built | 1935 |
Architect | U.S. Lighthouse Service; D.A. Chase; Edwin Laird |
Architectural style | Art Deco, Classical Revival, et al. |
MPS | Light Stations of the United States MPS |
NRHP reference No. | 04001177[3] |
AHRS No. | XPR-006 |
Added to NRHP | October 27, 2004 |
History
The Lighthouse Board approved the construction of the Tree Point Lighthouse on April 24, 1903, and just over a year later the light was activated on April 30, 1904. The lighthouse was the first, and only lighthouse, to be built on mainland Alaska. In the early 1930s, the Bureau of Lighthouses authorized reconstruction of the station with reinforced concrete. Work began in 1933 and was completed in 1935. The 1935 lighthouse was equipped with a fourth-order Fresnel lens, which is now displayed at the Tongass Historical Museum in Ketchikan, Alaska. In 1969 it was automated. The Fresnel lens was replaced with a lens mounted outside the lantern room. In the summer of 1977 the lens on the gallery was replaced with a modern, solar-powered VRB-25 Vega lens placed back inside the lantern room.
The lighthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as an historic district in 2004.[3] Its 2003 NRHP nomination stated that it was "the most intact [lighthouse] outpost in the southern section of Southeast Alaska. The listing includes the concrete light and fog-signal building built in 1935, one standing keeper residence, the two original oil houses, the later-period boathouse, and features of the water supply system. In addition, the tramway run is relatively intact." Additional features of a derrick and winch were deemed non-contributing, because they are relatively recent replacements.[4]
See also
References
- Lighthouses of the United States: Alaska The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 9 June 2016
- Alaska Historic Light Station Information & Photography United States Coast Guard. Retrieved 9 June 2016
- "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- Robert M. Weaver (February 27, 2003). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Tree Point Lighthouse / Tree Point Light Station (AHRS Site No. XPR-006)". National Park Service. and accompanying five photos from 2002
External links
- United States Coast Guard
- "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Alaska" (PDF). United States Coast Guard Historian's Office.
- Lighthouse Friends — Tree Point Lighthouse
- Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Alaska". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.