Navigating Through History: Interpretation at Historic Lighthouses and Recommended Measures for Best Practice- An Oregon Case Study
| dc.contributor.author | Yeley, Max | |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2025-03-19T20:03:59Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2025-03-19T20:03:59Z | |
| dc.date.issued | 2018-06 | |
| dc.description | 216 pages | |
| dc.description.abstract | Eleven light stations and one lightship once constituted Oregon's coastal lighthouse system. Of this system, nine lighthouses remain standing, as well as the last Columbia River lightship. While each of these structures has its own unique history, they are united in their representation of a brief, but important era in the history of Oregon, as well as the larger Pacific Northwest region. Together, these lighthouses serve as reminders of a time when ships plied up and down America's west coast, importing vital goods from the East and exporting valuable commodities through numerous harbors. Through the years, the need for these beacons steadily declined, and most of Oregon's lighthouses were either decommissioned or automated by the late 1960s. During the second half of the twentieth century, public agencies were given charge of most of these beacons, and extensive preservation efforts took place over the following decades. Presently, seven of these structures, as well as the lightship Columbia (WLV-604), are accessible to the public and feature interpretive programming. Each of these sites facilitates interpretation according to individualized plans and policies; there are no overarching guidelines for this practice other than the brief suggestions provided within the Historic Lighthouse Preservation Handbook and a few guiding principles from regional agencies. Using three case studies, this project examines some of the interpretive strategies currently employed at these sites, which range from the simple placement of informational plaques to fully guided tours and living history presentations. Ultimately, this work proposes several guidelines, themes, and strategies for relevant, consistent, and thorough interpretation at historic lighthouses. Keeping the unique character and history of each site in mind, the proposed guidelines can be easily tailored to the needs and capabilities of each resource. Moreover, though the historic context and case studies that are presented deal specifically with Oregon's coastal lighthouses, the proposed guidelines and strategies may be theoretically applied to any historic lighthouse. [n the end, this project aspires to contribute to the larger discussion about how historic preservation can actively incorporate interpretation. | |
| dc.identifier.uri | https://hdl.handle.net/1794/30627 | |
| dc.language.iso | en_US | |
| dc.publisher | University of Oregon | |
| dc.rights | Creative Commons BY-NC-ND 4.0-US | |
| dc.subject | historic preservation | |
| dc.subject | lighthouses | |
| dc.subject | Oregon Coast lighthouses' | |
| dc.subject | light stations | |
| dc.subject | Coquille River Lighthouse | |
| dc.subject | Cape Meares Lighthouse | |
| dc.subject | Yaquina Head Lighthouse | |
| dc.title | Navigating Through History: Interpretation at Historic Lighthouses and Recommended Measures for Best Practice- An Oregon Case Study | |
| dc.type | Terminal Project |