Oregon Coast Landmark Goes Under the Knife: Yaquina Bay Lighthouse Closes for 6 Months

Published 12/11/24 at 7:35 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Newport, Oregon) – One of Newport's most prominent landmarks will get a complete makeover in 2025. Indeed, it's one of the entire Oregon coast's favorite landmarks: the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse. (Above: the lighthouse around 1900)

Consequently, the lighthouse and its interior will be closed for about six months: from January 1 through June 2025. However, the park will remain open to visitors.

Constructed in 1871, this historic lighthouse served as a guiding beacon for mariners until it was decommissioned in favor of the Yaquina Head Lighthouse in 1874. It remains the last of the combined lighthouse and living quarters format still standing in Oregon.

Oregon State Parks and Recreation Department (OPRD) said the $1.6 million restoration project will be from top to literally the bottom. The restoration efforts include:

Repairing roof framing and chimneys

Restoring the brick foundation

Refurbishing the lantern

Fixing siding, doors, and windows

Installing a new roof

Applying a complete exterior paint

Brian McBeth, historic architecture project manager on the project, said it will help secure the future of the old building and allow visitors to continue to enjoy the famed Oregon coast feature.

“This restoration work will help protect and preserve the historic structure” said McBeth.

OPRD emphasizes its mission to protect and share historic structures like the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse for both current and future generations. Yet there's more than just this sentinel under its umbrella.

The Coast Guard tower next to the lighthouse underwent some work in the 2010s.

There are other projects coming to Oregon coast landmarks in the near future, according to OPRD. In addition to the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse, other significant efforts include the Cape Foulweather Gift Shop at Otter Crest near Depoe Bay, and the Hughes House at Cape Blanco State Park near Coos Bay. The Cape Foulweather Gift Shop will be closed from February to June 2025 with limited parking available due to construction activities.

“Each biennium, the department spends a portion of its project funds on historic restoration and maintenance,” OPRD said.

OPRD said to stay tuned for further updates on the restoration progress and other historic preservation efforts across the state.

Yaquina Bay Lighthouse has a unique history for many reasons, including the fact Newport is the only town on the coast with two lighthouses. While the Yaquina Bay Lighthouse lit up in 1871, it was decommissioned only three years later when the Yaquina Head Lighthouse went up and replaced it.

The bay lighthouse is also the source of an interesting ghost story that started all because of a piece of short fiction published in the local newspaper about 100 years ago (see links below).

It then spent decades as a kind of zombie home: derelict, falling apart, and occasionally used (including by the military during World War II). Right after the war it was scheduled for demolition and nearly lost to time, but somewhat saved in the '50s when some plans emerged to refurbish it. That didn't happen until the '70s and it finally reopened in '75 as an attraction.

Hotels in Newport - Where to eat - Newport Maps and Virtual Tours

SEE:

Almost Haunted Oregon Coast: Yaquina Bay Lighthouse Lore and Legends, Part 2 

Landmarks and Legends of an Oregon Coast Lighthouse, Newport's Yaquina Bay, Part I

The lighthouse in 1917

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