{"nrhp_refnum":"87001482","name":"Race Point Light Station","other_names":[],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Race Point Beach","address_restricted":false,"city":"Provincetown","county":"Barnstable County","state":"MA","lat":42.06126359700005,"lon":-70.24189945599994,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1987-06-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Engineering","Transportation","Architecture","Maritime History"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A lighthouse station on Race Point Beach in Provincetown, Massachusetts, within Cape Cod National Seashore. It includes a cast-iron and brick tower, keeper's dwelling, oil house and garage, mostly built in 1874-1876.","why_significant":"The nomination argues the station keeps its integrity of location, design, setting, materials and workmanship, and is tied to the development of aids to navigation in Massachusetts. It is described as one of the few intact nineteenth-century light station complexes. It meets criteria A and C at the state level.","narrative":"Race Point Light Station sits on Race Point Beach in Provincetown, among large sand dunes about 50 yards from the high water line, and guards the entrance to Provincetown Harbor. The complex centers on a 40-foot white tower of steel plate and brick with a black iron lens room, built in 1876. Nearby are a one-and-a-half-story wood-frame keeper's dwelling begun in 1874-76, a brick oil house from 1876, and a brick building that once housed the steam fog whistle machinery and is now a garage. A light has marked this spot since 1816, and more than 100 wrecks occurred nearby between 1816 and 1946. The station was automated in 1978. It was listed because the group of buildings remains largely intact from the nineteenth century, keeps its original setting and materials, and illustrates the growth of navigation aids in Massachusetts. Though the structures are somewhat deteriorated, the Coast Guard and National Park Service have considered rehabilitation and reuse.","period_of_significance":null,"architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":null,"criteria":["A","C"],"status_note":"Active but unmanned light, automated in 1978. The keeper's dwelling is described as abandoned and boarded up, and the Coast Guard is developing plans to rehabilitate and reuse the complex with the National Park Service.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:13:00.876366-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/55/7891/63789155/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_MA/87001482.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87001482/3e01052b09-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/87001482/3e01052b09-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Kenneth C. Zirkel","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Race_Point_Lighthouse_being_painted_2012.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Kenneth C. Zirkel</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Race_Point_Lighthouse_being_painted_2012.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/63789155","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_Point_Light","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q7278912"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/massachusetts/barnstable-county/race-point-light-station-87001482/"}