Ocracoke beacon to get needed repairs

The Ocracoke lighthouse looks great from outside, but its interior is sorely needing attention.

For the first time in at least 10 years, the interior of North Carolina's oldest continuously operated beacon is slated to be rehabilitated. The inside will be closed to visitors up to six months, probably starting in early August.

Work will include restoring the metalwork on the 80 steps of the spiral staircase, repainting the walls and cast iron, and installing new lightning protection.

The tower's insides have not been tended to since ownership was transferred from the Coast Guard to the National Park Service around 2000, said Doug Stover, historian for the National Park Service Outer Banks Group.

The decomposing brick clearly illustrates the need for maintenance, he said.

"You have this brick dust that's always on the floor every morning," Stover said.

At 65 feet, the white tower - gleaming from its exterior paint job last year - is the stubbiest lighthouse in the state. It's been standing guard near Silver Lake in Ocracoke village since 1823.

Tourists will still be able to see the lighthouse from the end of the boardwalk, but they will not be able to go inside, Stover said. It was only in recent years that the Park Service allowed the public into the base, where only about a dozen people at a time can fit comfortably. Although they're limited to only looking up, Stover said, he has seen bus-loads of people lined up, waiting to go in.

"Most people are fascinated to see the inside of it," he said.

In preparation for the six-month project, Stover said, the fourth -order Fresnel lens atop the tower will be turned off on July 11 for about 60 days. The Coast Guard, which owns the beacon as an aid to navigation, will issue a notice to mariners.

Kenny Ballance, the Park Service district ranger at Ocracoke, said he's been giving local residents notice that the light will be extinguished. The steady illumination of the lamp is visible for about 14 miles, and it serves as a landmark on the edge of the harbor.

"That's sort of their night light," he said. "So I've been preparing them."

Ballance said visitation at the base has averaged about 800 to 1,000 in a four-hour period on July Fourth, but he expects that the lighthouse will maintain its popularity as an attraction even with scaffolding on it.

"You can get up at 6 o'clock in the morning," he said, "and there's people out there."

Catherine Kozak, (252) 441-1711, cate.kozak@pilotonline.com