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Oracoke Lighthouse Ready To Shine Again at Cape Hatteras National Seashore

Submitted by Kurt Repanshek on March 3, 2010 - 3:09pm

The Oracoke Lighthouse was scheduled to go back online at Cape Hatteras National Seashore on Wednesday evening. Bottom photo shows a closeup of the 1860 Fresnel Lens. Photos by Alex Klahm & J.R. Lodico via NPS.

After four months of refurbishing, the Oracoke Lighthouse at Cape Hatteras National Seashore is scheduled to go back online tonight at dusk.

Superintendent Mike Murray said that beginning this evening the Ocracoke Lighthouse beacon would once again be visible from the village of Ocracoke. The lighthouse, originally constructed in 1823, received significant restoration work during the past four months and the light is ready to be turned on once again, seashore officials said. The work included repairs to historic metalwork, new glass in the lens room, and lightning protection measures to the structure.

The 1860 Fresnel lens remained in the lighthouse during the restoration work, protected in a specially designed enclosure. The beacon was darkened on November 13, 2009

The work has been performed by Alex Klahm Architectural Metal and Design, a Florida firm specializing in lighthouse restoration. No stranger to the Outer Banks of North Carolina, last winter the Florida-based firm replaced 195 damaged steps inside the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse.

Comments

Submitted by Alan C. Gregory, Lt. Col, USAF, Ret. (not verified) on March 4, 2010 - 1:50pm.

Great news. I remember visiting the place a couple times in the early part of this decade while on Air Force Reserve duty at Langley AFB, Hampton, Va. And wlways loved traveling to and hiking around Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge on the Outer Banks.