Point Wilson Lighthouse Bench
by Joan Carroll
Title
Point Wilson Lighthouse Bench
Artist
Joan Carroll
Medium
Photograph - Digital Photograph
Description
The lonely bench in the hot white of the sun said something to me! It was getting very late in the day and I was getting very tired but I had made it to Point Wilson Lighthouse, located in Fort Worden State Park near Port Townsend, Washington, The sun was low, bleaching out the white of the building's stucco but the low sun still gave the scene some warmth. Websites say this is still an operational light, and there is one building that is off limits, but....in general it looked pretty deserted to me! The Point Wilson Light was built in 1913 by the United States Lighthouse Service. At a height of 51 feet (16 m), the beacon is the tallest on Puget Sound, marking the entrance to Admiralty Inlet. The lighthouse replaced an earlier wooden light tower built in 1879 on the roof of the station keeper's house. The Point Wilson Lighthouse is on the National Register of Historic Places and the Washington State Heritage Register. It is one of the most important navigational aids in Washington, a link connecting Puget Sound and the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Today, a computer, located at the Coast Guard Air Station at Port Angeles, monitors the light, which was automated in 1976. The keepers' quarters were occupied by Coast Guard personnel until 2000. During the winters of 2005 and 2006, high winds and waves pummeled the low-lying lighthouse property flooding the basement of the keepers' dwelling and ripping the fog horn from its soundwall. The State of Washington has considered purchasing the property from the Coast Guard and combining it with nearby Fort Worden State Park, however, in 2007 the scheduled review of this proposal was delayed. Moving the lighthouse and associated buildings, which will likely cost between $3 and $5 million dollars, is considered the only long-term solution for saving the station. In the meantime, the Coast Guard is filling in the holes that have developed in the wall of rock armor that has been built around the point.
Uploaded
July 19th, 2014
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Viewed 3,351 Times - Last Visitor from Ottawa, ON - Canada on 04/19/2024 at 7:49 PM
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