Yaquina Bay Lighthouse gets its light back Tuesday as $1.8 million restoration nears completion

This story was originally published on LincolnChronicle.org and is used with permission.

The Oregon coast’s only wooden intact lighthouse was reunited with its lantern Tuesday, as the $1.8 million restoration of the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse nears completion.

In the early morning fog, a crane carefully lifted the 11,000 pound lantern to the top of the 150-year-old lighthouse, still covered with scaffolding. There weren’t many onlookers at 6:30 a.m., a day after Oregon Parks and Recreation delayed the lift due to high winds.

Built in 1871, the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse was made to guide ships into Newport’s harbor. But it had a short run and discontinued just three years later when the Yaquina Head Lighthouse was built to the north.

Today, the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse is the only existi