Rick Cain, director of museum services at the St. Augustine Lighthouse & Maritime Museum, constantly notices the 1874 lighthouse’s sturdy details. “The craftsmen of the 19th century were highly skilled,” he says. “They built things to last.”

But the weather on Florida’s northeastern coast takes its toll, and the iconic black-and-white, spiral-striped structure recently underwent its most extensive restoration in 30 years. The work was completed in August of 2022.

Below, the restoration by the numbers.