Lighthouse Rehabilitation Videos

Cape Fear Lighthouse - Bringing Home The Light
The 1903 Cape Fear Lighthouse was demolished in 1958. Now meet the people who are rebuilding its lost Fresnel lens. The Cape Fear Lighthouse was demolished in 1958, and in an unusual move, the Coast Guard gave it to the construction contractor. Now a small group of people are hoping to reclaim it and preserve the history of this North Carolina landmark. We traveled to across North Carolina to meet the people who are rebuilding the 12,000-pound Fresnel lens that once lit the night’s sky over the mouth of the Cape Fear River. Their story is featured in this short documentary.

We know that the tallest lighthouse in U.S., Cape Hatteras, was safely moved. But it is interesting to view this film clip from 1986 when relocating the lighthouse was in the proposal stage.

In 2012, the Pigeon Point Lighthouse, CA, located south of San Francisco had its first order Fresnel removed from the tower and relocated into it's fog signal building. The tower itself is about to be restored, so the lens was moved for safety purposes and is now on display for the public to see. We found this fascinating time lapse video of the entire disassembly of the giant lens at the top of the tower and the installation of it below. It's worth 4 minutes of your life to check this out. Don't we all wish we could work this fast!

Over the course of four months, volunteers from the New Dungeness Lightstation Association disassembled, polished and then re-assembled a 4th-order Fresnel lens that has been loaned from the US Lighthouse Society.
Watch this five minute video to see highlights of the process.
Music by Lee Murdock, used with permission.

Watch to see how the Port Clinton Lighthouse Conservancy is restoring the Port Clinton Lighthouse