RCA Point Reyes Receiving Station: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Point Reyes National Seashore, National Park Service

Bennett, Amanda; Owens, Erica

The RCA Point Reyes Receiving Station is an approximately 160-acre designed landscape that is located on the northwestern side of the Point Reyes peninsula, almost 10 miles northwest of the city of Point Reyes Station along Sir Francis Drake Boulevard. Located on mostly level terrain at an elevation of roughly 100 feet above sea level, the property historically associated with the station extends from Sir Francis Drake Highway to the Pacific shore with grazing pastures to the northeast and southwest. The area for the receiving station was selected because of its level, low vegetation, elevated topography and its isolated location away from natural and man-made atmospheric signals that could have interfered with reception. The historic district is comprised of improvements dating to the RCA era, including the majority of the buildings and structures. The RCA Point Reyes Receiving Station is within the Marconi/RCA Bolinas Transmitting Station and RCA Point Reyes Receiving Station Historic District that was determined eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. The Receiving Station is significant at a national-level under Criteria A and C with a period of significance from 1929 to 1973. Under Criterion A, the district is significant for being the location of events that have greatly contributed to the development of early wireless communications systems throughout the country. Under Criterion C, the district is significant for its highly-designed Art Deco buildings that date from the RCA-era. The period of significance covers just under half a century, beginning with the initial RCA development of the Receiving Station in 1929 and extending to 1973 when point-to-point radio service was discontinued due to advances in satellite-based communications. This period encompasses the major development of the roads, buildings, structures, antenna fields, cypress allee, and fence lines within the station property. The RCA Point Reyes Receiving Station operated without interruption as a radio receiving station until its closure by MCI in 1997. It appears today much as it did during the period of significance and retains its historical integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling and association. The Receiving Station complex contains five historic buildings and structures, organized around the central circular driveway. Some of the contributing resources include the Antenna Field, RCA Receiving Building, RCA Garage, RCA Utility Building, RCA Transformer Vault, the RCA Redwood Water Tank, and Bollards. A non-contributing resource is the Modern Utility Building. The historic character of the RCA Point Reyes Receiving Station is still evident in the following landscape characteristics: natural systems and features, spatial organization, land use, buildings and structures, small scale features, circulation, vegetation, and archeological sites. Based on the evaluation of these characteristics, the cultural landscape at the Receiving Station was found to exhibit key patterns, relationships, and features that convey the historical significance of the station. Overall, the landscape is in fair condition

RCA Point Reyes Receiving Station: Cultural Landscape Inventory, Point Reyes National Seashore, National Park Service

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