Point Atkinson Lighthouse is a lighthouse erected on Point Atkinson, a headland in southwestern British Columbia named by Captain George Vancouver in 1792, when he was exploring the Pacific Northwest in the ship Discovery. The first wooden lighthouse went into service in 1875 and was replaced by a reinforced concrete structure in 1914.
Point Atkinson Lighthouse
The lighthouse is located to alert ships entering Burrard Inlet.
The first lighthouse at the site was a wooden structure with an attached keeper's house, built by Arthur Finney of Nanaimo in 1874. It did not go into service until the following year because initially the wrong light was sent from England. The beacon was lit for the first time 17 March 1875.[2]
The light was 95 ft (29 m) above the sea and was visible for 14 mi (23 km). When the visibility was poor, ship captains would sound their foghorn three times, prompting the lightkeeper to pump a horn by hand until the vessel signalled that it was safe to desist.[3]
In 1889, Canadian Pacific Steamships demanded that a fog alarm be added. This was located in a separate building to the west of the lighthouse. It had a rotating drum which was driven by steam to make an audible sound. In 1902, this was replaced by a diaphone fog alarm in which a slotted piston moved inside a similarly slotted cylinder.[3]
The present lighthouse was built in 1914 on granite boulders jutting out into Burrard Inlet in West Vancouver, Canada. The concrete structure was considered at the time innovative in lighthouse design. It is now automated and still in use.[4]
The Point Atkinson Lighthouse may be reached by hiking the Valley Trail in Lighthouse Park.[5]
point, atkinson, lighthouse, lighthouse, erected, point, atkinson, headland, southwestern, british, columbia, named, captain, george, vancouver, 1792, when, exploring, pacific, northwest, ship, discovery, first, wooden, lighthouse, went, into, service, 1875, r. Point Atkinson Lighthouse is a lighthouse erected on Point Atkinson a headland in southwestern British Columbia named by Captain George Vancouver in 1792 when he was exploring the Pacific Northwest in the ship Discovery The first wooden lighthouse went into service in 1875 and was replaced by a reinforced concrete structure in 1914 Point Atkinson Lighthouse in 2022Point Atkinson LighthouseThe lighthouse is located to alert ships entering Burrard Inlet LocationStrait of GeorgiaBurrard InletWest VancouverBritish Columbia CanadaCoordinates49 19 49 N 123 15 53 W 49 3304 N 123 2646 W 49 3304 123 2646TowerConstructed1875 first 1912 current Constructionconcrete towerAutomated1996 Height18 metres 59 ft Shapeoctagonal truncated six ribbed tower with balcony and lanternMarkingswhite tower red balcony and lanternOperatorWest Vancouver Lighthouse Park 1 Heritagenational Historic Sites of Canada recognized federal heritage building of Canada LightFirst lit1912 Focal height33 metres 108 ft Range15 nmi 28 km 17 mi CharacteristicFl 2 W 5s Built1912ArchitectWilliam AndersonGoverning bodyDistrict of West VancouverWebsiteDistrict of West Vancouver Lighthouse ParkNational Historic Site of CanadaDesignatedMay 18 1974Reference no 12768 Contents 1 History 2 Keepers 3 See also 4 References 5 External linksHistory editThe first lighthouse at the site was a wooden structure with an attached keeper s house built by Arthur Finney of Nanaimo in 1874 It did not go into service until the following year because initially the wrong light was sent from England The beacon was lit for the first time 17 March 1875 2 The light was 95 ft 29 m above the sea and was visible for 14 mi 23 km When the visibility was poor ship captains would sound their foghorn three times prompting the lightkeeper to pump a horn by hand until the vessel signalled that it was safe to desist 3 In 1889 Canadian Pacific Steamships demanded that a fog alarm be added This was located in a separate building to the west of the lighthouse It had a rotating drum which was driven by steam to make an audible sound In 1902 this was replaced by a diaphone fog alarm in which a slotted piston moved inside a similarly slotted cylinder 3 nbsp Point Atkinson Lighthouse in May of 2022The present lighthouse was built in 1914 on granite boulders jutting out into Burrard Inlet in West Vancouver Canada The concrete structure was considered at the time innovative in lighthouse design It is now automated and still in use 4 The Point Atkinson Lighthouse may be reached by hiking the Valley Trail in Lighthouse Park 5 nbsp Lighthouse Park as seen from Altamont in the eastKeepers editEdward Woodward 1874 1877 Robert G Wellwood 1877 1880 Walter Erwin 1880 1910 Thomas David Grafton 1910 1933 Lawrence Walter Grafton 1933 1935 Ernest Charles Dawe 1935 1961 Gordon Odlum 1961 1976 James Barr 1976 1978 Oscar Edwards 1978 1980 Gerald D Watson 1980 1996 Donald Graham 1980 1996 3 See also editList of lighthouses in British Columbia List of lighthouses in Canada Lighthouse Park List of national historic sites of Canada Henri de Miffonis Brockton PointReferences edit Rowlett Russ Lighthouses of Canada Southern British Columbia The Lighthouse Directory University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Retrieved December 27 2015 Point Atkinson BC Geographical Names a b c Point Atkinson Lighthouse Lighthouse Friends Point Atkinson Lighthouse National Historic Site of Canada HistoricPlaces Parks Canada Retrieved 4 March 2015 Point Atkinson Lighthouse Maintaining the Light Archived 2013 10 18 at the Wayback Machine West Vancouver Museum and ArchivesExternal links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Point Atkinson Lighthouse Aids to Navigation Canadian Coast GuardPortals nbsp Canada nbsp Engineering Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Point Atkinson Lighthouse amp oldid 1170226923, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,