at the same time to provide a warning in the fog. By 1929, the lighthouse required repairs following several faults and failures caused by oscillations in the tower. The works carried out that year included the insulation of the main structure with wall tiles and the installation of 14 concrete columns to reinforce the building. In 1935, the signal horn was repositioned in the interior of the building following its predecessor being swept away during a storm, and a year later, the building was electrified with the installation of a generator. In 1947, the beacon was substituted by the current installation, a small third-order Fresnel lens beacon with panels, that included four white flashes that repeated every 13 seconds, and with a range. In 1950, the lighthouse was connected to the public electrical network, while the 3000W lamp was replaced by a 1000W lamp. A study was elaborated in 1954 by the Direcção-Geral dos Serviços de Urbanização (Directorate-General Urban Services), through its Serviços de Melhoramentos Urbanos (Urban Improvement Services), to examine the potential for improvement of the site position on the coast, culminating in the construction of a sea wall to protect the structure. Between 1958 and 1959, the DGEMN expanded building repairs and improvements under the auspice of the Serviços de Construção e Conservação (Construction and Conservation Services). Within the next four years an elevator was built to provide easy access to the beacon and in 1990 the light was automated. Architecture The lighthouse, the tallest in Portugal, stands on the southern shore of the Aveiro lagoon's (Ria) narrow isthmus connecting it to the Atlantic Ocean, next to the beach in the Summer resort town of Barra, at the intersection rotunda of Avenida Fernão de Magalhães and Avenida João Corte Real. where it occupies the most prominent position in the area with its 360° balcony standing high, providing westerly views to the sea, inlandwards to Aveiro city, the harbour complex, Ria and the Vouga river delta, the southerly beach resort towns of Barra, Costa Nova and nearby Gafanha fisherman towns as well as the northern shore towns of São Jacinto, Torreira and Murtosa. The lighthouse's main entrance is on the landward western side and faces a cobbled square and the town's center, while the seaward and southern side and harbour entrance is protected by the beach and an artificial straight break water positioned perpendicular to the shore line, reaching