Destruction Island Light stands on a rocky island about 3 miles off Washington’s coast in the Quillayute Needles National Wildlife Refuge, where it was built to guide ships along a hazardous shoreline. Construction began in 1890 after years of delay, and the iron-clad 94-foot tower entered service with its fog signal in 1891 and its lamp in 1892. Its first-order Fresnel lens, mounted 147 feet above sea level, was visible for 24 miles. The Coast Guard assumed responsibility in 1939, automated the light in 1968, and permanently extinguished it in 2008. The island site is now closed to the public, and the lens is displayed in Westport.