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Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse Review
The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, authorized by Congress in 1794 to help prevent shipwrecks, was the first lighthouse built in the region. The original structure was lost to erosion and Civil War damage; this 1870 replacement is, at 210 feet, the tallest brick lighthouse in the United States. Endangered by the sea, in 1999 the lighthouse was actually raised and rolled some 2,900 feet inland to its present location. A visitor center is located near the base of the lighthouse. In summer the principal keeper's quarters are open for viewing, and you can climb the lighthouse's 248 steps (12 stories) to the viewing balcony. Children under 42 inches tall aren't allowed to climb the lighthouse. Offshore lay the remains of the USS Monitor, a Confederate ironclad ship that sank in 1862.
- Address: Lighthouse Rd., off Rte. 12, 30 mi south of Rodanthe, Buxton, NC, 27920 | Map It
- Phone: 252/995-4474
- Cost: Visitor center and keeper's quarters free, lighthouse tower $7
- Hours: Visitor center and keeper's quarters: Memorial Day--Labor Day, daily 9--6; 9--5 rest of yr. Lighthouse tower: mid-Apr.--Memorial Day and Labor Day--mid-Oct., daily 9--4:30; Memorial Day--Labor Day, daily 9--5:30
- Website: www.nps.gov/caha/planyourvisit/climbing-the-cape-hatteras-lighthouse.htm
- Location: Hatteras Island
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