Cape Decision is a lighthouse located on

Kuiu Island Kuiu Island is an island in the Alexander Archipelago in southeastern Alaska. It lies between Kupreanof Island, to its east, and Baranof Island, to its west. The island is long, and wide. It is nearly cut in two by Affleck Canal. It has of ...

adjacent to

Sumner Strait Sumner Strait is a strait in the Alexander Archipelago in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is about long and wide, extending from the mouth of the Stikine River to Iphigenia Bay on the Gulf of Alaska, separating Mitkof Isl ...

Southeast The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each sepa ...

Alaska.

History

The first attempt to light these waters was an

acetylene Acetylene ( systematic name: ethyne) is the chemical compound with the formula and structure . It is a hydrocarbon and the simplest alkyne. This colorless gas is widely used as a fuel and a chemical building block. It is unstable in its pur ...

lantern A lantern is an often portable source of lighting, typically featuring a protective enclosure for the light sourcehistorically usually a candle or a wick in oil, and often a battery-powered light in modern timesto make it easier to carry and h ...

placed on the

Spanish Islands This list of islands in Spain incapsulates the country's islands both within its territorial borders and its overseas possessions. The total number of islands is 179. List Spanish Micronesia Spain owned several Pacific islands as part of ...

, just off the southern end of Kuiu Island. The lantern was proved ineffective and consequently Congress appropriated $59,400 in 1929 for a lighthouse and construction began in September of that year. However, weather and inadequate funds delayed the completion of the station until it finally became active in March 1932. The total cost ended up in excess of $150,000. The lighthouse became automated in 1974 and in 1989 fire damaged the

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport ...

dock A dock (from Dutch ''dok'') is the area of water between or next to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships (usually on or near a shore) or such structures themselves. The exact meaning va ...

boathouse A boathouse (or a boat house) is a building especially designed for the storage of boats, normally smaller craft for sports or leisure use. describing the facilities These are typically located on open water, such as on a river. Often the boats ...

, hoist house, paint shed, and

helipad A helipad is a landing area or platform for helicopters and powered lift aircraft. While helicopters and powered lift aircraft are able to operate on a variety of relatively flat surfaces, a fabricated helipad provides a clearly marked hard ...

. The original third order

Fresnel lens A Fresnel lens ( ; ; or ) is a type of composite compact lens developed by the French physicist Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) for use in lighthouses. It has been called "the invention that saved a million ships." The design allows the ...

was replaced in 1996 with solar powered aero beacon. The lens is on display in

Clausen Museum Clausen is a Danish patronymic surname, literally meaning ''child of Claus'', Claus being a German form of the Greek Νικόλαος, Nikolaos, (cf. Nicholas), used in Denmark at least since the 16th century. The spelling variant Klausen has iden ...

in the nearby community of

Petersburg Petersburg, or Petersburgh, may refer to: Places Australia *Petersburg, former name of Peterborough, South Australia Canada * Petersburg, Ontario Russia *Saint Petersburg, sometimes referred to as Petersburg United States *Peterborg, U.S. Virg ...

. The lighthouse was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artist ...

in 2005. and It is currently an active aid to

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navigation, ...

. The lighthouse is currently owned and maintained by the Cape Decision Lighthouse Society.

References

External links

*
Cape Decision Lighthouse SocietyCape Decision Lighthouse
at Lighthouse Friends * * * {{Authority control 1932 establishments in Alaska Art Deco architecture in Alaska Historic American Engineering Record in Alaska Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Alaska Lighthouses completed in 1932 Lighthouses in Unorganized Borough, Alaska Lighthouses on the National Register of Historic Places in Alaska Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Prince of Wales–Hyder Census Area, Alaska