The Plexiglas windows around Point Reyes Lighthouse’s lantern had turned frosted. Installed in the 1970s, they no longer gave a clear view through the upper part of the tower. Inside was a much older piece of optical equipment: the first-order Fresnel lens that had served the light since 1870. [1][2]
Keeping that lens in place had already required specialist work. In December 2004, the National Park Service reported that glazing putty had dried and failed, leaving many of its glass prisms loose in their frames. The park hired lampist Jim Woodward to stabilize the lens with its staff. This was care for the glass itself, rather than the windows surrounding it. [2]
Where is this place?
Point Reyes Lighthouse. This map locates the town or region, not a verified exact historic event site.
The 2018–19 project reached further out. Contractors removed the lens and clockwork mechanism for refurbishment before taking apart the lantern and roof. The cast-iron tower had suffered substantial corrosion; the work included new material in the rebuilt upper structure and transparent glass in place of the aging plastic. [1]
In its account of the project, which won a 2022 restoration award, the California Preservation Foundation described the new glazing’s jobs: improving waterproofing, protecting the interior from ultraviolet light and recovering the tower’s earlier appearance. Its team list names separate glass, objects and metals conservators alongside architects, engineers and the contractor. The lens was one vulnerable component within a weather-exposed building. [3]
Point Reyes had stopped relying on the historic tower as a working navigation light in 1975, when the Coast Guard installed an automated light beside and below it. The old lens remained an object to preserve and show. During the later restoration, it waited out the rebuilding: the lantern and roof were renewed first, then the lens and clockwork were reconstructed inside. [1]