[3] The first, unofficial, light established at Alki Point was a kerosene lantern said to have been hung on the side of a barn in the 1870s by farmer and property owner Hans Martin Hanson.

[4] In 1887, the United States Lighthouse Board recognized the need for an official light and placed a lens-lantern atop a wooden post at the point.

[5] As Hanson remained the property's owner, he was assigned to be lightkeeper at a salary of $15 per month.

The tower held a fourth order Fresnel lens that was visible at no less than 12 miles (19 km).

[4] Following modernization, the principal keeper's quarters became the home of the Commander of the Thirteenth Coast Guard District.