Lighthouse Splendor

by James Williamson

Original - Sold

Price

$2,400

Dimensions

26.000 x 18.000 inches

Title

Lighthouse Splendor

Artist

James Williamson

Medium

Painting - Watercolor

Description

POINT ROBINSON Lighthouse

Artist James Williamson ASMA,
Signature Member of the American Society of Marine Artists

The Point Robinson Lighthouse evolved from a simple fog signal set on Maury Island in 1885. Shortly thereafter a lantern was installed, and by 1915, a complete lighthouse was built. The octagonal masonry design, crowned with a fifth-order Fresnel lens, is accompanied by a fog signal building and two keeper's dwellings.
The lighthouse is located on the northeast corner of Maury Island, just across from the larger and more populous Vashon Island in Puget Sound. The station is open to the public from noon until 4:00 p.m. on weekends. For information on tours and transportation, call (206) 463-2951.
Pilots and vessels sailing the Puget Sound waters between Seattle and Tacoma keep a sharp eye out for the Point Robinson Lighthouse. The lighthouse marks a vital safe channel in this narrow and heavily trafficked waterway.
A peaceful and scenic location near Seattle and Tacoma, Point Robinson Lighthouse was once a popular duty station for keepers and their families. Today the light is automated and continues to do its job without the help of resident keepers.
Mt. Rainier
At 14,408 ft., the highest elevation in Washington State, this volcanic peak is in the center of Mt. Rainier National Park, west central Washington State. Mt. Rainier boasts 28 named glaciers, which constitute the most extensive glacier system in the United States, except Alaska.
More names have been used or suggested for this lofty mountain than for any other geographical feature in the state. The present official, federally approved name was applied in 1792 by Capt. George Vancouver to honor Rear-Admiral Peter Rainier, RN, Admiral of the Blue
Safeguards of Coastal Navigation
Primary seacoast and secondary lights are so designated because of their greater importance as aids to navigation. In general, they differ from the minor lights by their physical size, intensity of light, and complexity of light characteristics. These lights are more individual in nature than minor lights and buoys; only broad general statements can be made about them as a group.
Primary seacoast lights are maintained to warn the high-seas navigator of the proximity of land. They are the first aids to navigation to be seen when making a landfall (except where there may be an offshore lightship). A coastwise pilot can use these lights to keep farther offshore at night than if he were using other visual aids. These are the most powerful and distinctive lights in the U.S. system of aids to navigation.
Primary seacoast lights may be located on the mainland or offshore on islands and shoals. When located offshore, they may mark a specific hazard, or they may serve merely as a marker for ships approaching a major harbor.
Many primary seacoast lights are so classified from the importance of their location, the intensity of the light, and the prominence of the structure. Other aids will be classed as secondary lights because of their lesser qualities in one or more of these characteristics. The dividing line, however, is not clear cut.
The physical structure of a primary seacoast light and many secondary lights is generally termed a lighthouse, although this is not an official designation used in the light list. The principal purpose is to support a light source and lens at a considerable height above the water. The same structure may also house a fog signal, radio beacon, equipment, and quarters for the operating personnel. In many instances, however, the auxiliary equipment and personnel are housed in separate buildings nearby; such a group of buildings is called a light station.
Lighthouses vary greatly in their outward appearance, determined in part by their location, whether in the water or onshore, the importance of the light, the kind of soil on which it is constructed, and the prevalence of violent storms.
Lighthouses also vary in appearance with the distance at which their lights must be seen. Where the need is for a relatively great range, a tall tower with a light of high candlepower is erected. Conversely, at points intermediate to the principal lights, where ship traffic is light, and where long range is not necessary, a less expensive structure of more modest dimensions is constructed.
The terms, secondary light and minor light, indicate in a general way a wide variety of lights, one class shading imperceptibly into the other. These lights may be displayed from towers resembling the most important seacoast lights, or from a relatively inexpensive structure. The essential features of a light structure where operating personnel are not in residence are best possible location as determined by the physical characteristics of the site, sufficient height for the requirements of the light, a rugged support for the light itself, and proper shelter for the power source. Many forms of structures meet these requirements small houses topped with a short skeleton tower, a cluster of piles supporting a battery box and light, and countless others.
Many lights originally tended by resident keepers are now operated automatically because of the availability of commercial electric power and reliable equipment. There are also a great many automatic lights on inexpensive structures cared for by periodic visits of Coast Guard cutters or by attendants who are in charge of a group of such aids.

Uploaded

June 6th, 2012

Statistics

Viewed 1,891 Times  -  Last Visitor from Saint Paul, MN on 04/17/2024 at 3:03 AM

Colors

Embed

Share

Sales Sheet

Tags