Cape Meares by auntietk
Close
Hover over top left image to zoom.
Click anywhere to exit.
Members remain the original copyright holder in all their materials here at Renderosity. Use of any of their material inconsistent with the terms and conditions set forth is prohibited and is considered an infringement of the copyrights of the respective holders unless specially stated otherwise.
Description
Cape Meares' first-order Fresnel lens was manufactured in France in 1888. It was an eight-sided lens, with four bullseyes and four panels.
On the night of January 9, 2010, a vehicle was driven down a blocked maintenance road to the Cape Meares Lighthouse.
The intricate glass lens was shipped around Cape Horn in 1889, and was lifted over 200 feet using wooden cranes made of local timber to its new home at Cape Meares. The beautiful Fresnel lens was carefully installed, and its light was lit for the first time in 1890.
Red panels were hung, and the Cape Meares rotating light signal was 30 seconds of white light followed by five seconds of red.
The light could be seen 21 miles out to sea ... stopped only by the curvature of the earth.
The two men in the vehicle, ages 23 and 26, drunk, got out their high-powered rifles and fired at the light.
The light was decommissioned in 1963, and was slated for demolition. Due to public outcry the lighthouse was saved and restored. The four bullseyes were stolen at one point, but were later recovered and reinstalled.
The lighthouse was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.
The shots broke 15 of the lighthouse windows and several pieces of the historic Fresnel lens. Damages are thought to be in the neighborhood of $500,000. The 120-year-old glass can never be duplicated, only replaced with a close approximation.
The names and photographs of the idiots who were resonsible for the vandalism, along with their sentencing information, can be seen HERE. Some of their handiwork can be seen above.
Comments (23)
Faemike55
After reading the article about their sentencing, I feel they didn't get a harsh enough sentence, but it is in the right direction Great capture, Tara
awjay
nice one
durleybeachbum
I agree with Mike. I believe the pills that are available for padlock-obession may work for your similiar affliction. I declined the treatment myself.
Fidelity2
Well done. 5+! Thank you for this one.
cfulton
Pity about the story... makes me wonder about the evolution of mankind. I love your capture of the subject matter though! Clive
bazza
Lovely capture of this lighthouse light lens Tara.. What idiots they are..
Sea_Dog
Excellent shot.
beachzz
Stupid people...ugh. Great shot of this fine old light, though.
bobrgallegos
Awesome Photo !!! I agree, they should of gotten more time.
jocko500
this is wonderful shot of this history
captbear
wonderful
bmac62
As usual, I very much like your asymetrical composition. Light is nigh onto perfect for the subject and time of day:)
npauling
How could anyone destroy anything as beautiful as this light. What a shame and I hope they make them pay for the repairs even if it takes them all their life. A lovely capture.
Chipka
What a shot! I love this: the light (natural in this case) shining through the glass...the color. The composition. It's all perfect. As for the story of the vandals: well, I followed the link (that's what it's for, right?) and well...after reading the article and seeing the pictures of the vandals in question, I can only hope these guys don't breed! I mean, c'mon, in both cases, the bases of their necks are fatter than the tops of their heads! I just look at these guys and wanna ask each of them: "Did somebody pee in your gene pool?" With the examples of homo-non-sapiens notwithstanding, this is a gorgeous shot. I really like the way you've presented the information too...
Cosine
Beautiful photo, Tara. I'm glad you got some good weather. To follow up on your story, one of these to Darwin-award candidates is back in jail. To quote from a story here, "According to police, he showed up at the sheriff's office to claim property from the lighthouse case, specifically items that had been seized during the investigation. Police said Pyle smelled of alcohol and appeared to be under the influence of drugs." I have to agree with Chipka; I really hope they don't breed.
barbdennist
Dennis (Cosine) beat me to the story. I, too, was going to let you know that at least one of these two idiots is back in trouble. I have very much enjoyed your fantastic pictures of this lighthouse.
gonzojr
Beautiful photo and great info!!
makron
Great capture. A great shot, I like the headlights.
MrsRatbag
Too bad they didn't accidentally shoot each other. That kind of stupidity doesn't need to be passed along in the gene pool. What a beautiful light!
wysiwig
All my life I've been looking for a$$holes. Sure glad I didn't miss out. Love the mug shots. You can easily see the clear white light of stupidity shining out from their dull faces. And while we're ate it, if the damages are an estimated $500,000 how come these two lumps only have to pay $100,000? I say put them to work until the debt is paid. Oh yeah, superb image Tara. Were you hanging from a harness?
moochagoo
Very good POV and view !
RodS
A fantastic photo of this treasure, Tara! Such a beautifl and historic place. Don't even get me started about those two wastes of DNA.... They're damn lucky I wasn't the judge... These slackjawed idiots would never get near a firearm or a bottle of booze as long as they lived. AND they would work in prison at prisoner's wages until the entire half-mil was paid off. Morons....
Blush
A sad story But a wonderful image Hugs Susan~