Browns Point Lighthouse
Type: Lighthouses
Owner: Points Northeast Historical Society
Phone: 253-927-2536
Designation*: NR
Built: 1933
Location: 201 Tulalip Street NE, Tacoma
Map and directions (Courtesy Google Maps)
Hours: Daily
Admission: FREE

*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

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Browns Point marks the north entrance to Commencement Bay and the Port of Tacoma. The government established a post lantern on the point on December 12, 1887, the same day a similar lantern was lit at Point Robinson, north of Browns Point on Maury Island in Puget Sound. Fog was the greatest problem in the area. During periods of heavy fog, the keeper had to wind the mechanical clapper for the 1,200-pound bell every 45 minutes. The keeper was also a musician; he gave local children music lessons on a piano and attended concerts by rowing across Commencement Bay to Tacoma.

A wooden tower for the bell and accompanying light was built in 1903, along with a keeper’s house, a boat house, and an oil house. The light was electrified in 1922. The wooden tower was replaced with a concrete structure in 1933. Today, the Points Northeast Historical Society rents the keeper’s house to visitors on a weekly basis. The organization also offers tours of the light station on Saturday afternoons, February through November.