These lighthouse projects are a great source of satisfaction to the Hardin Optical employees who were fortunate enough to work on them. Being from the Oregon Coast where these lighthouses are a common sight, it gives them a sense of accomplishment and community pride to have the chance to be a part of these two lighthouses' history.
In 1992 the Coast Guard approached Hardin Optical as part of their nationwide search for an optics company to restore the second order Fresnel lens at the Cape Blanco Lighthouse. Vandals (two local teens with a crowbar) had broken into the lighthouse tower and smashed one of the eight bulls-eye lenses and several of the prisms. These types of lenses had last been manufactured in France, nearly 100 years ago.
Hardin Optical's design engineers and optical technicians had worked on some interesting projects before, but nothing quite like this. The project was a unique blend of aesthetics and function. The new lenses must work with the originals still in place to project a signal, and the new lenses also need to visually match the originals so that the visiting public would notice little or no difference between them.
It took a years worth of effort and some complex reverse engineering to recreate the prisms. Hardin Optical worked through all sorts of challenges, from finding a suitable contemporary glass, to designing custom machinery and fixtures to handle such large prisms. In 1994 the damaged bulls-eye lens and prisms were successfully restored.
Then in 2002 Hardin Optical was called upon again. The Cape Blanco Lighthouse was undergoing a full restoration. The Coast Guard removed all the lens panels and delivered them to Hardin Optical to be re-set and re-caulked in the frames. When they were complete, the Coast Guard re-assembled the panels in the lantern room.
The Cape Blanco Lighthouse claims the distinction of being Oregon's oldest, highest above the sea, and most westerly lighthouse. It was originally built in 1870 and is one of many lighthouses that dot the western coast from Mexico to Canada to aide mariners in navigation. Cape Blanco is near the town of Port Orford, south of Bandon, where Hardin Optical's operations are located.
In 1994, during routine maintenance of the Haceta Head Lighthouse, one bulls-eye lens and several prisms of the first order Fresnel lens were dislodged and broken. Hardin Optical was selected to perform this restoration work as well. With the recent experience of the Cape Blanco work under their belts, the Hardin Optical engineers and technicians met this challenge head on. They worked to manufacture the replacement prisms and restored this historic lighthouse lens to its original condition.
Haceta Head is named for Don Bruno de Haceta of the Spanish Royal Navy who surveyed the area in 1775. Construction on the lighthouse began in 1892 and finished in August of 1893.On March 30, 1894 the lamp at the Haceta Head Lighthouse was lit. The lighthouse is near Florence, north of Bandon, where Hardin Optical's operations are located.
