Parks around the world have utilized their history in numerous ways to attract both residents and visitors. However, few have been able to embrace that history while also creating experiences like Mukilteo Lighthouse Park. By taking advantage of a space that includes a historic lighthouse, public boat launch and shoreline walkway, the park has been able to create experiences that attract both residents and visitors to enable a powerful economic and cultural impact for the wider community.
A Lighthouse Park Master Plan
The Mukilteo Light Station began operation on March 1st, 1906. The keeper’s houses were built at the same time as well as the pump house and windmill. Originally equipped with an oil lamp, the current Fresnel lens was brought to Mukilteo when the Mukilteo Lighthouse was converted to electricity in 1927. The light is now automated but still flashes 24 hours a day to aid in ship naviation, but visitors can climb to the top of the lighthouse for a spectacuar view of the area. Much of this history is on display in a museum that used to serve as the assistant lighthouse keeper’s station.
Mukilteo Lighthouse Park was constructed in the 1950s on a filled tideland and has provided continuous public beach access up to the present. The former Washington State Park was deeded to the City in 2003. In 2004, the City adopted a Lighthouse Park Master Plan to make physical improvements to the approximately 14.4-acre site.
The plan describes a revitalized downtown waterfront that was designed to benefit local businesses while also creating a looped pedestrian promenade, bike lanes and numerous places for community engagement. It allows residents and visitors to experience the natural shoreline while celebrating the past, present and future of the Mukilteo waterfront. This plan also incorporates changes regarding the location of the ferry and ferry loading areas and has enhanced pedestrian mobility.
Placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1977, the Mukilteo Lighthouse was deeded to the City of Mukilteo in 2001. That paved the way for the Lighthouse Park Master Plan that has reshaped how residents and visitors have come to engage with the entire park.
Experiencing History and Engaging with the Community
The Mukilteo Walking Tour offers a scenic seascape, less than a mile of easy walking and fourteen pausing points that highlight several interesting features of human and natural history in the area. Additionally, the audio version of the tour gives people a behind the scenes take on all of the stops on the tour. The fourteen stops on the tour range from specific buildings like the Lighthouse Keep to tidal lagoon areas to interpretive signs that remind everyone of the wildlife that lives along the shore of the Puget Sound.
The history of the area blends together with the present community via the numerous parks and pavilions that are have been installed throughout Mukilteo Lighthouse Park. Additionally, numerous events and activities provide residents with a reason to come back to the site and visitors with a reason to make the trip. The park also exposes everyone to various businesses and essential elements of the community, including the Mukilteo Japanese Memorial.
The gift shop at Mukilteo Lighthouse Park is designed to offer visitors quality products and unique merchandise at a fair price. Some of their most popular items include Wild Abalone necklaces with matching earrings, leather bracelets and purses, nautical scarves and dishtowels. All the proceeds go towards light station restoration efforts. The historic Mukilteo Light Station is also available for touring and special events.
The numerous ways that both residents and visitors can engage with and at Mukilteo Lighthouse Park has created a positive economic and cultural impact for the park and the entire area. Doing so showcases what can happen when people are both physically and thematically connected to a monument.
Connecting the People and Experiences of Mukilteo
Mukilteo Lighthouse Park is a collection of natural and man-made resources that have come together to create monumentous experiences for visitors. The impact of doing so is evident in everything from the presence of the Lighthouse on Washington Lighthouses license plates to the site being a popular spot to have professional photos taken for weddings or quinceañeras. These developments have allowed Mukilteo Lighthouse Park to represent a powerful legacy for Mukilteo and the surrounding region.
