Grays Harbor Lighthouse, Westport, Washington
2013.09.09
After visiting the Westport Maritime Museum, we drove through town a short distance to see the Grays Harbor Lighthouse.
The lighthouse began operation in 1898 with a third-order Fresnel lens (which remains). It is Washington’s tallest lighthouse at 107 feet, with 135 steps up to the lantern room. When constructed, it was about 300 feet from the water. A century of silt buildup from the jetty has moved the coast 3,000 feet away. The lighthouse seems oddly out of place now in the midst of trees.
We decided it wasn’t worth $5 to climb to the top on such a dreary, low-visibility day, but they let us step inside and take photos from below. The cast-iron landings are supported by brackets attached to the walls, and then the steps hang from the landings.
Maritime Museum