On October 1, 1872, the Bodie Island Lighthouse was lit for the first time. This 156 feet tall structure is the third lighthouse to be build in the vicinity. The first light was built in 1847 but was constructed so poorly that it became unsafe and was razed in 1859. The second light, built in 1859, was destroyed by Confederate soldiers in 1861. Restoration of the current lighthouse is nearly complete and will be open to the public on April 19th.
The 1871 first-order Fresnel lens was removed from the tower during the restoration and the 344 glass prisms were cleaned. The lens was being re-installed the day that we visited,
Great! Scaffolding is down. Looks like I'll get to climb to the top this summer. :-)
ReplyDeleteI am looking forward to climbing it too. I heard an interview with one of the park rangers who said the view from the top is spectacular.
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