National Register of Historic Places

Point Retreat Light Station

Juneau, Juneau County, Alaska
Listed
June 18, 2003
Type
District
Period
Industrial
Ref No.
03000529

About this property

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. Point Retreat was named by Joseph Whidbey on July 19, 1794, because of his need to retreat from local Tlingit. Point Retreat was set aside as a 1,505-acre (609 ha) 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. National Register of Historic Places listings in Juneau, Alaska "Historic Light Station Information and Photography: Alaska" (PDF). United States Coast Guard Historian's Office. Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Alaska". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Location

Juneau, Juneau County, Alaska
58.41109, -134.95489

Categories

MARITIME HISTORYARCHITECTURETRANSPORTATION
National Register nomination ›
Sources

Property data from the National Register of Historic Places, National Park Service (public domain).

Description adapted from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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Nearby Historic Sites

Gruening, Ernest, Cabin
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8.3 mi
Sentinel Island Light Station
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9.4 mi
Rudy-Kodzoff House
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13.7 mi

Questions about this property

When was Point Retreat Light Station listed on the National Register?

Point Retreat Light Station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on June 18, 2003.

What type of historic resource is Point Retreat Light Station?

Point Retreat Light Station is classified as a district in the National Register of Historic Places.

What is the period of significance for Point Retreat Light Station?

The period of significance for Point Retreat Light Station is recorded as the industrial era.

Can I research the history near Point Retreat Light Station?

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