Cape Henry (Second Tower) Light Station, Virginia Beach, VA
**Cape Henry (Second Tower) Light Station** - National Register of Historic Places Ref # 02001439, date listed 2002-12-02
Atlantic Ave.
Virginia Beach, VA Virginia Beach (Independent City)
The Atlantic Coast and Chesapeake Bay served as a major transportation corridor for commercial traffic from the early 18th through 20th centuries. Cape Henry Lighthouse marks the south side of the entrance to Chesapeake Bay and is considered one ofthe most important lighthouses on the Atlantic coast. The Lighthouse is the earliest cast-iron-cylinder light tower in the state of Virginia; at 163 feet, it is the tallest cast-iron-plate light tower in the United States. The world's first synchronized radio beacon and electric oscillator air fog signal was put into commission at Cape Henry Lighthouse in May of 1929.
The second tower for the Cape Henry Light Station was built in 1881. A granite foundation supports a 163-foot-tall tower shaped in the form of a truncated frustrum of an octagon surmounted by a one-story black iron lantern that contains a first-order Fresnel lens. Associated station structures include three modified keeper's dwellings -two are circa 1881 and the other dates to the 1940's; a modified 1881 brick fog signal building; a 1892 brick oil house; a 1905 coal house; a modified 1935 fog signal testing laboratory; and two wooden sheds. The light station is located on Cape Henry on the south side of the Chesapeake Bay entrance. Access to the property is through Fort Story, Virginia Beach, Virginia. (1)
References (1) NRHP Nomination Form www.dhr.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/134-0079_...
Cape Henry (Second Tower) Light Station, Virginia Beach, VA
**Cape Henry (Second Tower) Light Station** - National Register of Historic Places Ref # 02001439, date listed 2002-12-02
Atlantic Ave.
Virginia Beach, VA Virginia Beach (Independent City)
The Atlantic Coast and Chesapeake Bay served as a major transportation corridor for commercial traffic from the early 18th through 20th centuries. Cape Henry Lighthouse marks the south side of the entrance to Chesapeake Bay and is considered one ofthe most important lighthouses on the Atlantic coast. The Lighthouse is the earliest cast-iron-cylinder light tower in the state of Virginia; at 163 feet, it is the tallest cast-iron-plate light tower in the United States. The world's first synchronized radio beacon and electric oscillator air fog signal was put into commission at Cape Henry Lighthouse in May of 1929.
The second tower for the Cape Henry Light Station was built in 1881. A granite foundation supports a 163-foot-tall tower shaped in the form of a truncated frustrum of an octagon surmounted by a one-story black iron lantern that contains a first-order Fresnel lens. Associated station structures include three modified keeper's dwellings -two are circa 1881 and the other dates to the 1940's; a modified 1881 brick fog signal building; a 1892 brick oil house; a 1905 coal house; a modified 1935 fog signal testing laboratory; and two wooden sheds. The light station is located on Cape Henry on the south side of the Chesapeake Bay entrance. Access to the property is through Fort Story, Virginia Beach, Virginia. (1)
References (1) NRHP Nomination Form www.dhr.virginia.gov/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/134-0079_...