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"Cape
Hatteras Lighthouse"
by Paul McGehee. This iconic North Carolina lighthouse is located on
Hatteras Island in the Outer Banks, in the town of Buxton. She watches
over the Diamond Shoals area of the coastline, where the warm Gulf
Stream currents mix with the cold Labrador Current, making for very
treacherous waters. Known as the "Graveyard of the Atlantic" it is the
final resting place for many vessels. The first beacon at Cape Hatteras
was constructed in 1802 and guided ships along the coast for the next
six decades. But over the years that early lighthouse grew into
disfavor among mariners who complained of her small, old-fashioned
reflector light that couldn't be seen from a distance until it was too
late. Numerous attempts at improving the beacon's reflectors were made.
Finally it was decided to build a new, taller lighthouse tower near the
existing one. The new Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was constructed of brick
under the direction of the Army Corps of Engineers over a two-year
period, and stood an impressive 210' tall. At the time it was the
tallest brick tower structure in the world. For
the next 65 years the Hatteras Lighthouse did her best to keep shipping
away from the dangerous shoals, with her powerful beacon cutting
through the dark of night. In daylight hours, Cape Hatteras
Lighthouse's distinctive black-and-white "barber pole" color scheme
assisted mariners in identifying the light from a distance. Year after year, however, the giant lighthouse
was fighting a losing battle...a battle against erosion and the
shifting, shrinking shoreline. In
1935 the water was so close to the base, safety concerns instigated the
construction of a metal framework "skeleton tower" behind it to take
over the lighthouse's duties. During World War II the brick tower was
used as a Coast Guard lookout point, to keep an eye out for any German
U-Boats that might appear offshore to mount attacks in the shipping
lanes or on the mainland. By 1950, the brick tower was again deemed
safe and new equipment was installed to light her beacon once more. For
almost the next half-century she stood, a proud symbol of the Carolina
coast. As fate would have it, though, she would once again be
threatened by the encroachment of the pounding surf. By the end of the
1990s the waves were hitting just 15' from the tower's base. It was
decided to physically move the historic lighthouse in order to save it
from imminent disaster. In a massive engineering project, the 5,000-ton
brick tower was underpinned to a platform and placed on a slowly moving
track which guided her to her new location 1,500' inland. The risk of
collapse was great during the move, but the old lighthouse made it
completely intact! The feat still holds the record for the tallest
masonry structure ever moved. Today, the venerable Cape Hatteras
Lighthouse shines her light from her new home, maintained by the U.S.
Coast Guard and the National Park Service. "Cape
Hatteras Lighthouse" is faithfully
reproduced as an archival-quality print from McGehee's original color
pencil drawing issued in a limited edition of only 500
pieces, each hand-signed by the artist.
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