National Historic Landmark · lightvessel · Oakland, California

Lightship Wal-605, Relief

Lightvessel in Oakland, California. Added to the National Register in 1989, and a National Historic Landmark.

Open to visit National Historic Landmark Listed 1989

Photos via Wikimedia Commons · 6 in the Commons category

What it is

United States lightship Relief (WLV-605) is a lightvessel now serving as a museum ship in Oakland, California. Built in 1950, she is one of a small number of surviving lightships, and one of an even smaller number built specifically for the United States Coast Guard. Along with her sister ship, the WLV-604 Columbia, she is a good example of the last generation of lightships built. She was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1989.

Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

The record

Property type	Structure
Address	Oakland Estuary in Brroklyn Basin, Oakland, CA
County	Alameda County
Listed	Dec 20, 1989
Listed for	Politics and government, Architecture, Social history
Level of significance	National
Also known as	Overfalls; Blunts
Reference number	89002462
Type of place	lightvessel, preserved watercraft
Designations	National Historic Landmark
Contributing resources	1 structure
Standing	Yes

The nomination form, the document that argues why this place matters, is in the National Archives: Read the nomination ↗

Visiting

Address	Oakland Estuary in Brroklyn Basin, Oakland, CA
Coordinates	37.7957° N, 122.2806° W · Directions ↗
Also in Oakland	62 listed places in Oakland →
Nearest national park unit	San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park · 8 miles · on Park Atlas
Federal campgrounds nearby	Aquatic Park Cove, Black Point Overnight Anchoring, Sailing Vessels Only (Auxiliary Engine Ok) 8 miles · Rob Hill Group Campground 11 miles · Kirby Cove Campground 12 miles

This one you can go inside. Hours and admission change with the season; the website above has the current schedule.

At a glance

State: California
County: Alameda County
Listed: 1989
Type: Structure
Landmark: Yes

Cell signal

Verizon: 5G (fast)
AT&T: 5G (fast)
T-Mobile: 5G (fast)

Outdoor coverage as modeled by carriers in FCC filings as of 2025-12-31. This product uses FCC APIs and/or Data but is not endorsed or certified by the FCC.

Official links

Sister site

Park Atlas

Every unit of the National Park System, with its fees, hours, alerts and campgrounds.

Open Park Atlas →

This record is built from National Park Service sources, re-read every Saturday, and Wikidata, re-read on the first Saturday of each month. Register Atlas is independent and is not affiliated with any agency, and a listing does not mean a place is open to visitors. How the data is built →

Explore

Map

Nearby in Alameda County

All listings in Alameda County →

Landmark · 0.1 km

USS Potomac (yacht)

National Historic LandmarkListed 1987

Building · 0.2 km

Oakland Iron Works-United Works, and the Remillard Brick Company

BuildingListed 1983

Building · 0.6 km

Heinold's First and Last Chance Saloon

Local history books for Oakland

We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.

Italian Oakland
Rick Malaspina, 2011
Find at Bookshop.org
Jews of Oakland and Berkeley
Frederick Isaac, 2009
Find at Bookshop.org
Oakland aviation
Ronald T. Reuther, 2008
Find at Bookshop.org
Oakland's equestrian heritage
Amelia Sue Marshall, 2008
Find at Bookshop.org
Black artists in Oakland
Jerry Thompson, 2007
Find at Bookshop.org

Guidebooks to historic places in California

Walking L.A
Erin Mahoney Harris, 2017
Find at Bookshop.org
Secret stairs: East Bay
Charles Fleming, 2011
Find at Bookshop.org
Sacramento remembers the Civil War
Robert F. Bundy, 2010
Find at Bookshop.org

Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.

Reference

Questions people ask

When was Lightship Wal-605, Relief listed on the National Register?

Dec 20, 1989. It is also a National Historic Landmark, the higher of the two designations.

Source: National Park Service

Can I visit Lightship Wal-605, Relief?

Yes. Lightship Wal-605, Relief is recorded as open to the public.

Source: Wikidata

Where is Lightship Wal-605, Relief?

Oakland Estuary in Brroklyn Basin, Oakland, Alameda County, California. The nearest national park unit is San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park, 8 miles away.

Source: San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park

Where is the nomination form for Lightship Wal-605, Relief?

The National Archives holds the nomination form, the document that made the case for listing.

Source: National Archives

Are there campgrounds near Lightship Wal-605, Relief?

Three federal campgrounds are within reach. The closest is Aquatic Park Cove, Black Point Overnight Anchoring, Sailing Vessels Only (Auxiliary Engine Ok), 8 miles away. Rob Hill Group Campground is 11 miles away, and Kirby Cove Campground is 12 miles away.

Source: Campsite Atlas

Is there cell service at Lightship Wal-605, Relief?

FCC coverage maps show Verizon 5G, AT&T 5G, and T-Mobile 5G at the listed point. Coverage indoors and behind old masonry is another matter.

Source: FCC Broadband Map

Sources

Location, type and contributing counts come from the National Park Service's National Register spatial data. Listing dates come from the National Register office's spreadsheet where it carries the listing. Construction date, architect, style, photograph and encyclopedia link come from Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons, matched on reference number 89002462. Nothing here is transcribed by hand. The nomination form and photographs ↗ at NPGallery are the original nomination as filed with the National Park Service, and the form is often the best description of the place. The description under "What it is" is the opening of the Wikipedia article, CC BY-SA.