Bodie Island Lighthouse
by Priscilla Burgers
Title
Bodie Island Lighthouse
Artist
Priscilla Burgers
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
BODIE ISLAND LIGHTHOUSE by PRISCILLA BURGERS
The Bodie Island Lighthouse, (pronounced "Body") is located just south of the town of Nags Head on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. In 1837, this oceanside location on Pea Island was decided on for a new lighthouse on the dangerous Outer Banks because more vessels were lost there than on any other part of that coast. Construction began on the 54-foot lighthouse in 1847 but major structural problems soon followed. The brick foundation was unsupported, causing the tower to lean within just a couple of years and making subsequent repair attempts unsuccessful and very costly. This first lighthouse was abandoned and a second 80' ft. lighthouse was commissioned in 1858 at a nearby site. This new lighthouse met an untimely end just two years later when it was destroyed by Confederate soldiers during the Civil War. A third lighthouse was planned and construction began in 1871. This lighthouse was moved further North and further inland to a 15 acre site and was nearly double the height of its predecessors. A lighthouse keepers' duplex was constructed at about the same time and by 1872, the lighthouse was in operation, providing a beacon to passing ships with a First Order Fresnel Lens. In 1932, the Bodie Island Lighthouse became automated, and by 1953 it had been transferred into the care of the National Park Service. It stands 165 feet tall and is located on the Roanoke Sound side of the first island that is part of the Cape Hatteras National Seashore. It was renovated from August 2009 to March 2013 and was made climbable by the public. There are 214 steps that spiral to the top. The 170-foot structure is one of only a dozen remaining tall, brick tower lighthouses in the United States and one of the few with an original first-order Fresnel lens to cast its light.
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SOLD:
A 24" x 36" matted and framed print by a buyer in Princeton, NJ on 11/5/2020. Thank you!
Uploaded
May 1st, 2017
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