Outer Banks – Bodie Island Lighthouse in South Nags Head

In south Nags Head there is a lighthouse, Bodie Island Light (pronounced “body”).  It is 165 feet tall, and painted with black and white horizontal stripes. It is named after the family who owned the property it was built on.

The lighthouse you now see standing on that spot is actually the third built there. The first was so poorly built that it developed cracks and began to lean, resembling the Leaning Tower of Pisa, it was eventually torn down.

The second, which was complete in 1859, suffered a tragic end when retreating Confederate soldiers attempted to foil the Union Navy from using it for naviagational purposes, blew it up in 1861. The Union later found a pile of valuable lighthouse parts including fresnel lenses at the North Carolina Capital building.

Finally on October 1, 1872 the current lighthouse was lit for the first time. Eighteen days later a flock of geese crashed into the fresnel, after which time screening was placed strategically around the lens and further such collisions have been avoided.

Although the lighthouse is not open for climbing you can go inside the base and look up to the top. The lighthouse keepers quarters have been renovated and are currently being used as a visitor center for the lighthouse.

This week as I drove past the lighthouse several times, I was curious when I saw it’s unusual appearance. I decided to stop and check out the situation, on closer inspection I realized that it was surrounded by a massive amount of scaffolding. I apparently is undergoing renovations.  It always amazes me when the government, be it federal, state or local, decide to undertake a renovation or construction project during the heighth of tourist season. One of the main attractions to the beach are our lighthouses. Does it only seem logical to me that this is not the best time to be doing a project like this? Anyway,  soI had to take pictures, I whipped out my trusty digital SLR and took several pictures. This is what our beautiful tourist attraction looks like as of July 19, 2010! While it is interesting to see all of the scaffolding and it can be an artistic element itself, it is not what people expect to see when coming here. So much for using it as a backdrop for family or wedding portraits.

To read more about the Bodie Island Lighthouse and it’s history visit @http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=357

These photos were taken at 8:45 pm July 19, 2010.