Cape Disappointment Lighthouse

Pick any four 4-inch tiles — National Parks you've been to, a Smokies set, the four seasons of one place. $ for a set of , cork-backed, ready to live on the table.

Cape Disappointment Light stands on the south end of Cape Disappointment, in Pacific County, Washington, marking the north side of the Columbia River bar. The tower sits about 220 feet above sea level on a basalt bluff inside Cape Disappointment State Park, near the town of Ilwaco.

The lighthouse was lit on October 15, 1856, making it the oldest active lighthouse on the West Coast of the United States. Construction began in 1853 but was delayed when the supply ship Oriole was wrecked on the bar she had been sent to mark.

Yes. The light is automated and remains an active aid to navigation under the U.S. Coast Guard. The original first-order Fresnel lens has been removed and is on display in the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center a short walk uphill.

The tower is 53 feet tall, a conical brick-and-rubble masonry structure painted in horizontal black-and-white bands. Because it stands on a 200-foot bluff, the focal plane of the light sits about 220 feet above sea level, visible roughly 20 nautical miles offshore in clear weather.

On foot only. From the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center parking lot, a roughly half-mile spur trail descends through coastal spruce and salal to the base of the tower. From the North Jetty parking lot at Waikiki Beach, the trail is about a mile and includes a short climb.

The Columbia River discharges roughly 265,000 cubic feet of fresh water per second into the Pacific, meeting the ocean's swell over a shallow, shifting shoal. The result is short, steep, breaking waves and an irregular current pattern. More than 2,000 vessels have been lost on or near the bar.

It has been a meaningful gift for many of our customers in that group. Cape Disappointment is the oldest active lighthouse on the West Coast and a landmark of Pacific Northwest maritime history. A framed Medium or Large carries the tower's scale without overstating it.

Maritime, coastal-modern, and storm-coast contemporary. The piece carries the black-and-white tower against iron-grey Pacific and a thin band of horizon light. It pairs with weathered wood, brass, and ship-lap panelling. Less suited to bright tropical palettes.

Yes. Maritime-modern interiors in 2026 lean toward darker, weather-worn palettes than the lighter coastal style of the 2010s. A Cape Disappointment lighthouse tile suits that direction, especially as the focal piece in a Large or four-tile Mural.

A single Large reads well above an 84-inch sofa. For wider walls, a four-tile Mural builds a roughly 32-by-32-inch field, and a nine-tile Mural reads at couch-length scale. A Medium works above a console; a Small suits a stair landing or a desk shelf.

Yes, with the Dura Satin or Matte finish. The colour lives in the ceramic surface and is unaffected by steam, splashes, or routine moisture. The Glossy finish is reserved for framed wall art rather than wet zones.

A microfibre cloth with water is enough. For stuck-on residue, a drop of dish soap in warm water. Avoid abrasive pads and acidic cleaners. The colour is infused into the ceramic, not painted on top, and will not lift with normal cleaning.

Yes. The piece is original to the studio in Knoxville, Tennessee. Reid Wender curates the WenderVista atlas, and each tile is hand-finished in house. The artwork is not licensed from any third party and is not available outside the Wender Studios family of shops.