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After six months of tedious restoration, the historic lens at California's Point Cabrillo Light Station is back in place and shining again.
What's amazing about this project, is that most lenses of this type are not in the lantern rooms of lighthouses, they are in museums. This lens was built by Chance Brothers of England and it is believed to be one of only three surviving Chance Brothers lenses in the United States.
The lantern room and lens were completely disassembled, down to each screw and bolt. Every piece of the lantern room and lens apparatus was stripped of layers of paint, and rust was removed. Damaged parts were restored or replaced, where possible. Over 1,000 man-hours of work went into the restoration.
To celebrate the relighting of the lens, a gala celebration was held on August 7th, in conjunction with National Lighthouse Day, (the anniversary of the creation of the U.S. Lighthouse Service) and because 1999 is also the 99th anniversary of the first lighting of Point Cabrillo Light Station.
Point Cabrillo Lighthouse is located two miles north of Mendocino, CA. There is a 1/2 mile walk from the parking area to the lighthouse. The grounds are open daily from 9am to 6pm, and the lighthouse is owned by the Coastal Conservancy and is managed by the non-profit North Coast Interpretive Association. For further information you can visit their web site at www.pointcabrillo.org, or call them at 707-937-0816.
This story appeared in the August 1999 edition of Lighthouse Digest Magazine. For subscription information about the print edition, click here.
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