Built in 1870, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is the tallest brick lighthouse in the world, measuring 210 feet from the bottom of the foundation to the pinnacle at the top.
From the sidewalk to the upper gallery in the lantern room, there are 269 steps. There are 9 granite steps at the base, 248 cast iron steps, and 12 companionway steps to the upper gallery in the lantern. The height of the climb is just over 166 feet. On July the 18th 2009, the National Park Service offered a Full Moon Tour of the lighthouse. There are no lights inside the lighthouse so the climbers had to navigate the stairs with handheld flashlights as the park rangers provided stories of the duties of the lighthouse keeper. In the lantern room you had a view of the light up close and in motion as you learned about the operation of the beacon in the past and the present. Outside on the balcony you could see the beam reaching out across the sea and experience the reflection of the full moon on the ocean. |
