Alki Point Light Station
Type: Lighthouses
Owner: US Coast Guard
Phone: 206-903-0245
Designation*: DOE
Built: 1913
Location: Alki Ave SW and Harbor Ave SW, Seattle
Map and directions (Courtesy Google Maps)
Hours: Contact owner
Admission: Contact owner

*DOE=Designated eligible; NR=National Register of Historic Places; NHL=National Historic Landmark; WHR=Washington Heritage Register; City=Local city; County=Local county; N/A=Not applicable

Comments from site users
11/29/2007 3 out of 5
My mother Dolores (Cameron) DeLorenzo grew up in the Alki Point light house between 1930 and 1948. She went back to visit in the 70's and her bedroom had the same wallpaper. She is alive and doing well today in Fircrest Wa. Her dad was Archie Cameron a pretty well known light house keeper who was also a friend of Henry Foss. Dan DeLorenzo- Tacoma .

6/8/2007 5 out of 5
This is a classic lighthouse with all the trimmings!

Alki Point at the extreme northwest tip of West Seattle was destined to play a role in Seattle’s maritime history almost from the day the first Anglo-European settlers arrived in 1851. Just a quarter-mile east of the point, the area’s first pioneers landed from the schooner Exact. When settlers established a new harbor at Elliott Bay to the east, ships traveling to and from communities in southern Puget Sound had to round dangerous shoals at Alki Point. According to local legend, farmer Hans Martin Hanson, who owned the land, hung a brass lantern from a post to guide vessels around the point.

The US Lighthouse Service eventually built the first full-fledged light station at Alki Point in 1913, complete with lighthouse, a fog signal, and two houses for the lighthouse keepers and their families. The light itself was powered by a fourth-order Fresnel lens, used mainly for harbor entrances. Today, the light station is fully automated. The exterior of the station is maintained exactly as it appeared in 1913. The station is one of eight Puget Sound lighthouses open to visitors.