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As part of the preparation to move Florida’s historic Cape San Blas Lighthouse to a safer location, its magnificent 3rd order bivalve lens was recently removed from its lantern room.
Removing the lens was no easy task and required a lot of delicate and precise work while combatting some pesky and unexpected wasps that had decided to make their home in the tower.
The dismantling, crating, and removal of the lens was done by Joe Cocking, a professional certified lampist who packed each piece in special packaging to keep out moisture before they were placed in specially constructed boxes to be lowered by ropes and pulleys from the top of the outside of the 90-foot tall tower.
On hand for the lens removal was Arlyn Danielson, curator for the Coast Guard who oversaw the project, and Kathleen McCormick, the Director of Collections at Florida’s St. Augustine Lighthouse, who helped to dismantle the clockwork mechanism.
It is hoped that the lens can be reinstalled in the lantern room once the lighthouse is moved to its new and safer location. Threatened by erosion, the Cape San Blas Lighthouse is currently on the Lighthouse Digest Doomsday List of Endangered Lighthouses.
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