Lighthouse renovation nearly done

NEWPORT, Ore. – Workers are putting the finishing touches on the $1 million renovation of the Yaquina Head Lighthouse, returning the structure to the way it looked when it was built in 1873.

The lighthouse was black and white until the early 1940s, when the Coast Guard took over ownership from the U.S. Lighthouse Service and painted the roof red and ironwork green. That gave a distinctive look to the 93-foot white conical tower, the tallest lighthouse on the Oregon Coast. Part of the renovation involved returning the lighthouse to its original colors.

To complete the renovation, the Bureau of Land Management and Friends of Yaquina Lighthouses at Yaquina Head Outstanding Natural Area are installing six windows in the oilhouse, the structure that’s in front of the lighthouse tower.

The three windows on the north side of the oilhouse are not original and will be replaced with historically accurate windows. Three windows on the south side of the oilhouse were bricked over in the mid-1960s to reduce maintenance costs. They will be reinstalled in the same style as the originals.

The windows project will cost about $20,000. The lighthouse may be closed for brief periods during construction for the protection of the public.