The West Point Light, also known as the Discovery Park Lighthouse, is an active aid to navigation on Seattle, Washington's West Point, which juts into Puget Sound and marks the northern extent of Elliott Bay. The lighthouse is similar in design to the Point No Point Light and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1977. It is a main feature of Seattle's Discovery Park. History The lighthouse began operation on November 15, 1881, using a fourth-order Fresnel lens. It was the first manned light station on Puget Sound, built at a cost of $25,000 ($ in today dollars). It was illuminated with a kerosene lamp for its first 44 years, until it was attached to Seattle's electric grid in 1926. It became automated in 1985, the last station in Washington to do so. Under the National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act of 2000, in early 2003, Seattle's Department of Parks and Recreation applied to the United States Department of the Interior to take custody of the lighthouse from the U.S. Coast Guard and incorporate it into Discovery Park. The city was granted the property in October 2004. Included in the transfer of the property was the station's original 4th order Fresnel Lens. Upon signing over of the deed, the Coast Guard extinguished the original lighting system and replaced it with a modern Vega Rotating Beacon (VRB-25). The light retains its original characteristic of alternating red and white flashes every five seconds. A $600,000 restoration project, undertaken in 2009, saw exterior work completed in 2010, and restoration of the keeper's quarters finished in 2011. Location, access, and controversy West Point Light is adjacent to the West Point Treatment Plant (a sewage treatment plant) and public access. The lighthouse and beach area are under the Master Plan for Discovery Park; it was recommended that: There will be great pressures to open up the park to automobiles, motorcycles and motor bikes. One of the greatest values of the park is, however, that it will afford the people a refuge from the noise, air pollution and danger of the automobile. We believe, therefore, that park patrons should not be permitted to drive their private vehicles through the park. Under current rules, visitors may access the beach on foot by a number of trails, except for people with children under 8, people over 62, and people with physical problems that prevent them