Lightship WAL-605, RELIEF
About this property
United States lightship Relief (WLV-605) is a lightvessel now serving as a museum ship in Oakland, California. Built in 1950, she is one of a small number of surviving lightships, and one of an even smaller number built specifically for the United States Coast Guard. Along with her sister ship, the WLV-604 Columbia, she is a good example of the last generation of lightships built. She was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1989. WLV-605 is located on the Oakland waterfront, at the far eastern end of the Port of Oakland just west of the Oakland Ferry Terminal. The ship has a welded steel hull 128 feet (39 m) long, with a beam of 30 feet (9.1 m) and a hold depth of 21.4 feet (6.5 m). She is register at 400 gross tons. Above-deck features include a steel deckhouse, a breakwater fore, and two steel masts on which its lights are mounted. She also historically carried a fog signal and bell, both operated by hand. WLV-605 was laid down as WAL-605 in 1949 at the Rice Brothers shipyard in East Boothbay Harbor, Maine. She was launched on March 4, 1950, just sixteen days after Columbia, and was delivered, fully fitted, to the Coast Guard on February 11, 1951. She began service at the lightstation "Overfalls" at the entrance to Delaware Bay, serving until 1960, when the station was discontinued. She then sailed to the west coast, where she served at Blunts Reef off Cape Mendocino until 1969. During this time, Coast Guard lightvessels were redesignated, and she was redesignated WLV-605. She was then given the name "Relief", assigned duty to relieve other lightships on the Pacific coast. She was retired from service in 1975 and decommissioned the following year. After several unsuccessful attempts to convert her to a museum ship, she was acquired in 1986 by the United States Lighthouse Society, which now maintains the vessel in Oakland. National Register of Historic Places listings in Alameda County, California "Vessel Designation WLV-605". U.S. Coast Guard Lightships & Those of the U.S. Lighthouse Service. United States Coast Guard. Retrieved September 10, 2012. Delgado, James P. (June 30, 1989). "National Register of Historic Places Registration Form / Lightship WAL-605, "Overfalls," "Blunts," "Relief"" (pdf). National Park Service. Retrieved September 10, 2012. "Accompanying Photos" (pdf). National Park Service. Retrieved September 10, 2012.
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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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Questions about this property
When was Lightship WAL-605, RELIEF listed on the National Register?
Lightship WAL-605, RELIEF was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on December 20, 1989.
What type of historic resource is Lightship WAL-605, RELIEF?
Lightship WAL-605, RELIEF is classified as a structure in the National Register of Historic Places.
Is Lightship WAL-605, RELIEF a National Historic Landmark?
Yes. Lightship WAL-605, RELIEF has been designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL), the highest level of federal recognition for historic properties in the United States.
What is the period of significance for Lightship WAL-605, RELIEF?
The period of significance for Lightship WAL-605, RELIEF is recorded as the industrial era.
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Yes. Aubrey Research reports search National Register listings, battlefield records, land patents, and other primary historical sources within any radius of a US address. A report for an address near Lightship WAL-605, RELIEF will include this listing and all other historical records in the area.
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