Replies

The subject of two major renovations, the lighthouse is the centerpiece of the most popular state park in New Jersey, attracting half a million visitors annually.
It was from those tourists that the idea to relight Old Barney was born. Time after time, visitors asked if the lighthouse was operational. Docents responded with the same answer: the 250-watt incandescent bulb installed 15 years ago illuminated the top for decorative effect, but didn’t project the beam of light characteristic of lighthouses.

Friends of Barnegat Lighthouse State Park, a group of volunteers that raised money for various projects in the park, decided to change that. Because a lighthouse beacon is considered an aid to navigation, the group first had to get permission from the U.S. Coast Guard.
The original lens, which sits in a local historical society, weighs 3 tons and cost $15,000. The new lens, a VRB-25 light made in New Zealand by Vega Industries Ltd., weighs 42 pounds and cost $15,000. It runs on electricity and has a battery backup.

Angelo Rinaldi, president of the friends group, said lighthouses are just as popular today as they were more than a century ago, but for different reasons. “When the U.S. was a seafaring country, you needed lighthouses. Today you don’t need them,” he said. “People think of lighthouses more as a beacon of hope, a sign of the past.” The relighting of Old Barney has attracted nationwide attention. Its sesquicentennial celebration attracted visitors from upstate New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Maryland. Donations have come from as far as California, Rinaldi said.

Russell Wilson, superintendent of Cape Lookout National Seashore in North Carolina, called Rinaldi to inquire about the type of lens to be used. “It’s terrific they have a friends group that raised money to relight the lighthouse,” said Wilson, superintendent at Sandy Hook from 2002 to 2004. “Lighthouses have a following and it’s a good thing they have a following that can provide this support.”