Cape Blanco Lighthouse

After many attempts, we finally managed to visit this beautiful lighthouse.
Cape Blanco Lighthouse has recently (as of summer 2004) undergone a major facelift including painting the outside, cleaning and patching mortar on the inside and general maintenance. The light itself is a must see with a totally refurbished lens.
Cape Blanco light is truly in a class by itself. Sitting high on a cliff 245 feet above the ocean this lighthouse offers spectacular views from Oregon's westernmost point. It is also Oregon's oldest standing, continuously operating lighthouse. It was built in 1870 at a cost of $100,000.

Located 9 miles north of the town of Port Orford, this 59 foot tall tower became automated in 1980. Cape Blanco also has the distinction of being the first Oregon lighthouse to have a woman keeper. Mabel E. Bretheron began her watch in 1903.

And finally, Cape Blanco is the only lighthouse in Oregon with an operating Fresnel lens that allows guests into the lens room. A very rare treat indeed. It is the most impressive lens I've seen yet, next to Umpqua's red targets. This lens measures 4’8" in diameter and 6’8" in height. It is larger than a second order (4’7" by 6’1") lens, but smaller than a first order (6’1" by 7’10") lens. You can see how it was meticulously taken apart piece by piece and put back together with a thin mortar like cement.

This beautiful Lighthouse has easily become my favorite of the Oregon Lights we've seen so far!

Newest Additions Aug '09


I created a "mosaic" of the lighthouse click this image to see the "before"	click this image to see the finished mosaic	click this image to see a full size image (800k)and see the individual images that made up the mosaic.(may have to click within the image to see full size depending on your browser settings)

The mosaic is made up of pics we took on a recent trip to Bandon and Florence. The mosaic was made with 'AndreaMosaic'

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