Alki Point marks the southern entrance to Seattle's Elliott Bay. This 320-acre parcel of land was originally sold to Hans Martin Hanson and his brother-in-law Knud Olson in 1868 for $450. At night, they reportedly would light a lamp on the point as a service to mariners. It wasn't until 1887, that the Lighthouse Service finally recognized the need for an official light and placed a lens-lantern atop a wooden post at Alki Point. Hans Martin Hanson was hired and paid $15 a month to man the lighthouse. A lighthouse tender would offload several barrels of coal oil every six months to fuel the beacon and keep the lights shining.

Lighthouse Service eventually decided to upgrade the light and add a fog signal at the point. The government purchased a 1.5-acre parcel at the tip of the point from the Hanson family for a sum of $9,000. The present concrete fog signal building with attached, 37-foot octagonal tower was completed in 1913. A fourth-order Fresnel lens was used in the tower.

The sign in front of the lighthouse notes that the Alki Point Light is one of thirteen along the shores of Puget Sound, and that one of the last two civilian lighthouse keepers retired at the light in 1970. This keeper was Albert Anderson, who joined the Lighthouse Service in 1927and was stationed first on the Columbia River Lightship. When the Coast Guard assumed control of lighthouses in 1939, the keepers could either join the Coast Guard or serve as civilian keepers. Anderson chose the latter option and served at Tillamook Rock and Cape Blanco before transferring to Alki Point in 1950.

After automation, a portion of the lighthouse was remodeled to house the Commandant of the 13th Coast Guard District. Today, senior Coast Guard offices occupy that dwelling and the second dwelling is home to a resident keeper. The Fresnel lens used in the Alki Point Lighthouse is on display at the Admiralty Head Lighthouse.

 

References

Umbrella Guide to Washington Lighthouses, Nelson, 1990.
Lighthouses of the Pacific, Gibbs, 1986.
Lighthousefriends.com