![]() ![]() There are 269 steps from the ground to the lens room of the lighthouse. The tower’s sturdy construction includes exterior and interior brick walls with interstitial walls resembling the spokes of a wheel. This height was needed to extend the range of the light-beam from the tower’s low-lying beach site. It is the tallest brick lighthouse in the United States and measures 198.49 feet from the bottom of the foundation to the top of the pinnacle of the tower. ![]() The lighthouse is a conical brick structure rising from an octagon-shaped brick and granite base and topped with an iron and glass lantern. The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse as it looks today The Lighthouse Board assigned each lighthouse a distinctive paint pattern (daymark) and light sequence (nightmark) to allow mariners to recognize it from all others during the day and night as they sailed along the coast. The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse received the famous black and white stripe daymark pattern in 1873. The 1803 lighthouse was demolished in February of 1871. The new lighthouse was lit on December 16, 1870. ![]() Granite plinths (rock layers) were placed on to the top of the timbers. This meant that layered 6 foot x 12 foot yellow pine timbers were laid crossways in the foundation pit below the water table. Working with the natural conditions, the foreman, Dexter Stetson, used a “floating foundation” for the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse. The ground water levels on the Outer Banks are quite high and, therefore, when they began digging out the pit for the lighthouse foundation, it filled with water about 4 feet down. Since the lighthouse was built before the present-day pile driver was perfected, an interesting problem immediately arose. The Lighthouse Board prepared plans and specifications and construction on the new lighthouse began in October of 1868. At the same time, the tower was retrofitted with a first order Fresnel lens, which used refraction as well as reflection to channel the light, resulting in a stronger beam.īy the 1860s, with the need for extensive repairs, Congress decided to appropriate funds for a new lighthouse. The newly extended tower was then painted red on top of white making the lighthouse more recognizable during the day. In 1853, following studies made by the Lighthouse Board, it was decided to add 60 feet to the height of the lighthouse, thereby, making the tower 150 feet tall. Visit as many of them as you can on your California coast road trip, listed here from north to south.The first Cape Hatteras lighthouse after improvements The northern California coast offers some of the oldest lighthouses in the state, while the southern California coast offers additional interesting lighthouse finds, each with a unique history and purpose. Today, almost 30 lighthouses still stand proudly on the California coast and 16 of them are open to the public. Others are weathered and blend with the landscape, but still shine their lights brightly. Some lighthouses are freshly painted in contrasting colors making them a distinct landmark. Tall structures signal seamen great distances from the shore, while low ones help them to navigate in fog and low visibility. Meanwhile, other lighthouses are no longer on active duty but remain historic sites to visit, adopted by non-profit organizations determined to save them. Even though the nearly 300-year-long era of manned California lighthouses is now over, many of these light towers are now automated and still in use today. ![]()
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