Point Retreat Light

Infobox Lighthouse


caption =
location = Admiralty Island, Lynn Canal, Alaska
coordinates = coord|58|24|41|N|134|57|18|W|region:US_type:landmark
yearlit = 1904
automated = 1973
yeardeactivated =
foundation = Concrete
construction = Concrete
shape = White art deco square tower
height = 63 feet above sea level
lens = First order Fresnel lens 1904
range = 9 nm
characteristic = Flashing white 6s
admiralty = G6528
ARLHS = ALK-010
USCG = 6-23955

Point Retreat Light is a lighthouse located on the Mansfield Peninsula at the northern tip of Admiralty Island in southeastern Alaska, USA. It provides aid in navigation through the Lynn Canal.

History

Point Retreat was set aside as a 1,505-acre 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.

External Links

* [http://www.uscg.mil/history/weblighthouses/LHAK.asp United States Coast Guard Lighthouses of Alaska]
* [http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=827 Lighthouse Friends — Point Retreat Lighthouse]
* [http://www.unc.edu/~rowlett/lighthouse/ak.htm Lighthouse Digest — Alaska]