Lighthouse History
Built: 1914
Type: Octagonal on fog signal
bldg
Height: 49 Feet
Status: Active
Location: Fort Worden State
Park
Lens: Fourth Order Fresnel
Keepers: William J Thomas
Notes: The current lighthouse
was built in 1914, and the original lighthouse continued as the keepers'
dwelling minus its tower. The new lighthouse feature a 49-foot tower built
in an octagonal shape to reduce wind pressure. The light still shines from
a fourth-order Fresnel lens. The light was automated in 1976.
Today, a computer, located
at the Coast Guard Air Station at Port Angeles, maintains the light. 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. |