After our Friday lunch at the Cliff House, it was just a short way down the road to Browns Point Lighthouse Park:
201 Tulalip St. N.E.
Tacoma, WA 98422
(253) 927–2536
And yes, that is the correct spelling, without an apostrophe. At some point the apostrophe was dropped, although I couldn’t find out exactly when or why.
Browns Point Lighthouse Park comprises 4.03 acres and offers waterfront access. The U. S. Coast Guard owns and maintains the lighthouse itself, but the surrounding land and buildings are under the joint care of Metro Parks Tacoma and the Points Northeast Historical Society.
A light was first erected on a post at the location now known as Browns Point on December 12, 1887, two years before Washington became a state. The first White residents of Browns Point were the lighthouse keeper, Oscar Brown, and his wife, Annie, who arrived in 1903. The original lighthouse was a wooden structure built in 1903 that featured both a lamp and a bell used for fog warnings. Oscar and Annie Brown tended the lighthouse until 1939. More on the history of Browns Point Lighthouse is available here.
The original wooden lighthouse was replaced by the current structure in 1933. The keeper’s cottage, originally built for the Browns in 1903, has been fully renovated. The three-bedroom cottage of 2,000 square feet sleeps up to six people, has a full kitchen, and offers cable television, internet, and wi-fi service. It is available for rental. Furnished with antique furniture, the cottage is a living museum, and renters become honorary lightkeepers responsible for duties such as raising and lowering the flag daily, watering flower boxes, and welcoming visitors to an open house on Saturday afternoons between April and November.
Retreading for Retirement 