Paint removal underway at the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse

August 28, 2024 | Seashore News | By: Joy Crist

The black-and-white diagonal stripes that make the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse an iconic landmark are disappearing – at least for now.

Roughly eight months into an extensive restoration project, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse already looks like a different structure, with a tower of scaffolding and a new temporary lens lighting up the night. However, this next phase in the project may be the most eye-catching and noticeable change yet.

The contractor for the restoration, Stone and Lime Historic Restoration Services, began the process of removing the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse’s exterior paint on August 19.

Though less noticeable due to the structure being closed to visitors for the season, the interior paint has already been removed, and this part of the project was completed in late July.

Stone and Lime expects the exterior paint removal to be completely finished by early October.

Based on a previous lighthouse repainting endeavor back in the 1970s, a ghostly indication of the black-and-white spiral pattern will likely remain throughout the tower, but the lighthouse will mainly look like its bare-bones brick color from top to bottom.

There are additional milestones that are being reached as well. Metal restoration work is beginning, which includes the lantern room, the balcony, and other interior metal parts, and the adjacent oil house is being restored.

Meanwhile, over the summer, the first phase of a new concrete and brick pathway was completed, and in early June, roughly 1,200 to 1,500 new plants were added to the landscape. The seedlings included five different native species, like sea oats and bright red Gaillardia flowers (Joebells), and they were added on top of more than 2,000 cubic yards of imported sand, which was dredged from an offshore site close to Avon.

Frequent visitors to the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse may remember the pre-2024 site as a patchwork of grass and bare earth, due to decades of foot traffic. With the new circular pathways and fresh landscaping, the Cape Hatteras Light Station will be more attractive and easier to navigate.

Behind the scenes and off the island, a historic replica of the lighthouse’s first-order Fresnel lens is being constructed by Dan Spinella of Artworks Florida – one of the only people in the world who can restore and replicate a Fresnel lens.

Fresnel Lens at the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum

While this is Spinella’s 50th lighthouse project, it is the first time he has created a replica of a first order Fresnel lens – the largest of the eight orders of Fresnel lenses, which was invented in 1819 by French physicist Augustin Fresnel (pronounced “Fruh-nel”).

Spinella started the venture with a prototype, and since then he has been steadily constructing the replica itself, which includes a vast network of moving parts. The approximate 1,000 prisms that magnify the light take roughly an hour each to complete, so there’s still some work to be done before the new Fresnel lens makes its debut.

Stakeholders, (including Stone and Lime Construction and the National Park Service), are hopeful that despite any weather-related challenges, the lighthouse will officially reopen to visitors in the summer of 2026.

In the meantime, visitors are welcome to explore the work as it occurs on a day-to-day visit, stop by the Museum of the Sea, and watch in real-time as new life is breathed into a 154-year-old structure, even if – for a while, at least – the lighthouse loses its distinctive black and white façade as it prepares for a facelift.

What to expect in the months ahead

The lighthouse site will remain open to the public for the duration of the project, although there will be marked-off areas on the grounds where construction activities are ongoing.
National Park Service educational rangers lead a program that dives into the history of the lighthouse and relays information about the current restoration efforts every day from 11-11:30 a.m. The daily program, which is held at the visitor center pavilion, runs through Labor Day.
The lighthouse will NOT be open for climbing in the summer of 2024, but will hopefully reopen for the 2026 summertime season. Once the lighthouse does open for climbing, tickets will only be available electronically, similar to the current Bodie Island Lighthouse ticket-purchasing system.
The public can keep tabs on the progress and details of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse restoration project on the CHNS website.