Point Retreat Light Explained

Point Retreat Light
Location:	Admiralty Island Lynn Canal Alaska United States
Coordinates:	58.4115°N -134.955°W
Yearbuilt:	1904 (first)
Yearlit:	1923
Automated:	1973
Foundation:	concrete
Construction:	reinforced concrete tower
Shape:	square tower with balcony and lantern on fog signal building
Marking:	art deco archirecture, white tower, black lantern
Lens:	First order bivalve Fresnel lens (original), 300 mm lens (current)
Characteristic:	Fl W 6s.
Managingagent:	United States Coast Guard^[1] ^[2]
Module:	Point Retreat Light Station Embed: yes Nrhp Type: hd Nocat: yes Nearest City: Juneau, Alaska Architect: U.S. Lighthouse Service Architecture: Moderne Added: June 19, 2003 Built: 1924 Mpsub: Light Stations of the United States MPS Refnum: 03000529 Designated Other1: Alaska Heritage Resources Survey Designated Other1 Name: Alaska Heritage Resources Survey Designated Other1 Color: A8EDEF Designated Other1 Abbr: AHRS Designated Other1 Number: JUN-00084 Designated Other1 Num Position: bottom

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.

Naming

Point Retreat was named by Joseph Whidbey on July 19, 1794, because of his need to retreat from local Tlingit.^[3]

History

Point Retreat was set aside as a 1505acres 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.^[4]

See also

• List of lighthouses in the United States
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Juneau, Alaska

External links

• • Lighthouse Friends — Point Retreat Lighthouse

Notes and References

1. 2016-06-08.
2. http://www.uscg.mil/history/weblighthouses/LHAK.asp Alaska Historic Light Station Information & Photography
3. Book: Wagner , Henry . The Cartography of the Northwest Coast of America to the Year 1800 . University of California Press . 1937 . Berkeley . 385 .
4. Web site: [{{NRHP url|id=03000529}} National Register of Historic Places Registration: Point Retreat Light Station / Point Retreat Lighthouse AHRS Site No. JUN-00084 ]. David Benton . May 1, 2003 . National Park Service. and