>> Click to enlarge << The scaffolding gets close to the top of Barnegat ... Photo by: Diane Gormley

New Jersey’s Barnegat Lighthouse is getting ready to reopen after undergoing a massive $1.3 million restoration.

>> Click to enlarge << The beginnings of the scaffolding going up. ... Photo by: Diane Gormley

The 167-foot-tall tower, first lighted on January 1, 1859, was designed by George G. Meade, who later became a famous Civil War General. The lighthouse was automated in 1927 and was serviced by lamplighter-caretakers thereafter.

>> Click to enlarge << The protective sheathing around the scaffolding ... Photo by: Diane Gormley

The lighthouse previously underwent a $666,000 restoration in 1991. The lighthouse will open again for public climbing when the restoration is finished, which is expected to happen by the end of October.

>> Click to enlarge << Work crew high above the ground putting the ... Photo by: Diane Gormley

>> Click to enlarge << Clarence H. Cranmer, left (1861-1944), who ...