Five Finger Islands Light

Five Finger Islands Light
Five Finger Islands Light in 2003
Map
LocationThe Five Finger southernmost island
Frederick Sound
Alaska
United States
Coordinates57°16′13″N 133°37′54″W / 57.27038°N 133.63154°W / 57.27038; -133.63154
Tower
Constructed1902 (first)
Foundationconcrete pier
Constructionreinforced concrete tower
Automated1984
Height68 feet (21 m)
Shapesquare tower with lantern centered on the roof of keeper's house
Markingsart deco architecture
white tower, black lantern
OperatorJuneau Lighthouse Association[1] [2]
HeritageNational Register of Historic Places listed place Edit this on Wikidata
Light
First lit1935 (current)
Focal height81 feet (25 m)
LensFourth order Fresnel lens
Range18 nautical miles (33 km; 21 mi)
CharacteristicFl W 10s.
emergency light Fl W 6s of reduced intensity when main light is extinguished
Five Finger Light Station
Alaska Heritage Resources Survey
Nearest cityPetersburg, Alaska
Arealess than one acre
ArchitectU.S. Lighthouse Service; U.S. Lighthouse Board
Architectural styleModern Movement, Art Deco
MPSLight Stations of the United States MPS
NRHP reference No.04000416[3]
AHRS No.SUM-00009
Added to NRHPMay 12, 2004

The Five Finger Islands Light is a lighthouse located on a small island that lies between Stephens Passage and Frederick Sound in southeastern Alaska. It and Sentinel Island Light Station were the first U.S. government lighthouses opened in Alaska, first lit on March 21, 1902.[4]

It became the last lighthouse in Alaska to be automated on August 14, 1984.

History

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In 1901, a contract of $22,500 was awarded to construct a lighthouse on the southernmost of the Five Finger Islands. Completed in 1902, it was a rectangular lighthouse with a square tower, elevated several feet above the surrounding hipped roof. Atop the tower sat a lantern room from which a fourth-order Fresnel lens produced a fixed beam of white light at a focal plane of 68 feet (21 m). The original structure burned down in December 1933. The tower was rebuilt using public works appropriations. The current structure is made of concrete, which was completed and relit in 1935. It was automated by the United States Coast Guard in 1984.

It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Five Finger Light Station in 2004. The listing was as a historic district including four contributing buildings and one other contributing structure.[3]

The original lighthouse burned. The replacement, built in 1935, "is a good example of Modern Movement architecture, popular in the 1930s for concrete buildings, and adapted by the U.S. Lighthouse Service as the agency replaced the original wood frame lighthouse buildings at many of its sixteen staffed stations in Alaska."[4]

The light station was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.[3]

  • Original 1902 Lighthouse – USCG archive photo
    Original 1902 Lighthouse – USCG archive photo
  • 1992
    1992

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Alaska". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved June 7, 2016.
  2. ^ Alaska Historic Light Station Information & Photography United States Coast Guard. Retrieved 7 June 2016
  3. ^ a b c "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  4. ^ a b Valerie O'Hare and Jennifer Klein (March 23, 2004). "National Register of Historic Places Registration: Five Finger Light Station / Five Finger Lighthouse / AHRS Site No. SUM-00009". National Park Service. and accompanying photos
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