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Cape Lookout Lighthouse - continued:
In
1873, when the paint schemes were devised for Lookout, Hatteras
and Bodie Island, all three lighthouses were red brick,
and distinctive "day markers" were needed so mariners could tell
them apart in the daytime. The pattern chosen for Cape Lookout gives the
visual illusion of having two different lighthouses. This
is graphically depicted at right. The
brain perceives the left tower as being black with white "diamonds",
and the right tower as being white with black "diamonds".
 It
seems this unique aspect of the checkered pattern was taken into
account, because it so happens that the white and black markings
are specifically oriented to the compass.
If you see white diamonds on black, you are viewing the
lighthouse
in an east/west orientation. If you see black diamonds on white,
you are viewing from a north/south orientation. For
Cape Lookout, this was an important visual clue to ships, since the
deeper waters and safe harbors lay
east and west of the lighthouse, and shallows were to the north
and south. |
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| Visual Illusion |
It
has been proposed that the paint schemes for Cape Hatteras and
Cape Lookout were confused when time came to lay paint
to brick. Cape Hatteras guards "Diamond Shoals", so having "diamond" markings
seems to make sense. However, the Lighthouse Board never called
them "diamonds". They were specifically identified as "checkered" markings,
so such a blunder as mixing the paint schemes is considered unlikely. |
Birds get to see Cape Lookout from above, like this Brown Pelican cruising over the surf at Cape Lookout. But getting a view over Cape Lookout from the Lighthouse is a rare event. Because the lighthouse needs repairs, and general structural work for public safety, and other modifications to make it "visitor friendly", it has not been open to the public in the past.
 Plans are
in the works to upgrade the lighthouse and make it visitor friendly.
In the meantime, the Park Service is providing opportunities to
the public to climb
Cape Lookout
Lighthouse on
several special occasions. Advanced reservations were required,
and the author was lucky enough to
get one of the few reservations available for the November 1, 2003, open house for
the 144th anniversary
of its first lighting (Nov. 1, 1859). Then again for June 12, 2004, another climb opportunity came for the open house celebrating the 1st anniversary of the lighthouse transfer from the U.S. Coast Guard to the National Park Service (on June 14, 2003).
 For
these open houses, each visitor is allowed about a half hour to
climb
the 201 steps, take photos, enjoy
the view,
and come
back down. About 15 minutes of that time is allotted to be on the
gallery. The photo at right shows some of those visitors
patiently waiting at the base
of the lighthouse for their turn in November of 2003, while others
climb the wooden steps to the entrance
for their turn. |
Looking in |
Looking out |
Apparently
the high entrance has always been accessed from wooden stairs.
Original drawings of the lighthouse design show a two-story oil
storage building attached to the entrance (similar to Bodie Island and Currituck), but it was never built.
There is an electrical room below the entrance, which is
entered by a
door on the back (south) side of the structure
from ground level. The wall is extremely thick at the base. It
seems thicker than the other three tall lighthouses, judging from
the view "looking out" at the far right. Perhaps this is because
it has no "flared" base of granite to sit on as do the other three,
so the width was built right into the walls. |
 
The
first thing you notice inside is
how different the space
looks and feels compared to the other tall lighthouses.
The openness you sense comes
from the uncluttered
spiral staircase design of the cast iron stairs, a
masterpiece of elegant
simplicity.
The
visual effect of the stair design
is that of propellers or fan blades
spiraling around a long fluted
shaft. The open feeling is
enhanced
by the gap between each tread,
allowing
you to see up ahead of you as you
climb. This is well depicted by
the photo at left below, and the photo below it as well. |
  There
area no obvious bolts, screws, rods,
brackets or braces of any
kind along the wall. No
grooves or notches in the brick
or mortar
were visible either, leaving the
impression that the pie-shaped treads
are attached only to the central
fluted pole,
which runs the
full vertical height of the stairs. When this was mentioned to
a park volunteer who was assisting with the climb, he said he was
a retired engineer, and happened to know the step were indeed supported
at the wall. A second inspection finally revealed small
metal cleats well hidden by the mortar, which stick out of the
wall just
far enough to catch the end of the metal treads. Then it was discovered
the end of the steps next to the pole were fit
over a small pin, revealing just how the stairs were assembled,
one by one onto the pole.
 Unlike Currituck Beach or Cape
Hatteras, there is no central opening
or "well",
and no inside railing. The only handrail
is along the wall. This, and the fact that the steps are
thin (depth wise) on the inside by the pole make it unsafe
to pass on the stairs. Climbers should only pass on the landings.
This is a major concern if you have many visitors constantly
going up and down.
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There are four landings between the entrance
floor and the work room floor. The two photos at right show one
landing with a metal
floor, and one of wooden planking. The work room is essentially
a 5th landing, as it covers only half the width of the tower, just
as the landings do. It is closed off by a wooden wall, seen in
the photo below left. It is at this point you see the first of
the white painted diagonal metal braces which were added to the
tower. |
 
These braces circle the wall at the service room level, and continue up into the watch room. This structural bracing was added
in the 1980's to "stabilize the lantern room". Space is at a premium at the top, as the diameter of the top of this lighthouse is smaller than the other three tall lighthouses. The bracing takes up space going through the service room door, and makes the small stairs leading up to the watch room even smaller.
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There
is much more to see. Next - page 3 |
| Continue to
Cape Lookout Lighthouse - Page
Three > |
Cape
Lookout
Lighthouse |
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Navigate to individual
lighthouse pages with these buttons.
    
Cape Lookout Lighthouse - Page One
Cape Lookout Lighthouse - Page Two
Cape Lookout Lighthouse - Page Three
Cape Lookout Lighthouse - Page Four
Cape Lookout Lighthouse - Page Five
Related Links -
National Park Service Inventory of Historic Light Stations, NC Lighthouses
- Cape
Lookout Lighthouse
National Park Service - Cape
Lookout Lighthouse
Beautiful
Photos
of
Cape Lookout Lighthouse in the Lighthouse Gallery
Beautiful Photos
of
Cape Lookout Lighthouse in the Lighthouse
Gallery
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| Visit
these other web sites by Fred Hurteau |
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