Florence, OR – One of the most photographed lighthouses in the country is back open after two years of extensive restorations. Heceta Head Lighthouse on the Central Oregon Coast reopened to the public Saturday, June 8, 2013.
The nearly $1.6 million project helped bring the brightest light on the Oregon Coast back to the same way it would have looked when the then five-wick kerosene lantern was first lit in 1894.
With fresh coats of paint, new cement stucco and brand new windows that open to the Pacific, Heceta Head has never looked better. The red roof pops with the background of the deep blue ocean and the lush green trees of the Coast Range.
More than 100 subcontractors and craftspeople worked to replace and restore the tower’s historic metalwork and masonry and repair the lens rotating mechanism. The original wood floor of the work room was uncovered and reconditioned, leaving no detail left undone.
The project was financed through a combination of federal, state and private dollars. Additionally, the restoration project won the Oregon Heritage Commission’s 2013 Oregon Heritage Excellence Award.
photo credit to Eugene, Cascades & Coast.
