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First Cape Henry Lighthouse was completed in 1792 located on the Chesapeake Bay in Virginia. The replacement lighthouse was completed in 1881. Another photo shows the interior spiral staircase in great condition thanks to the efforts of Preservation Virginia. It is a National Historic Landmark on the U.S. National Register of Historic Landmarks. A climb to the top gives a great view of the Second Cape Henry Lighthouse completed in 1881. and the Virginia coast. Thanks for your views, comments, and faves. #OldCapeHenryLighthouse #VirginiaBeach #NPS #U.S.NationalRegisterOfHistoricPlaces #PreservationVirginia
A B&W from inside the Old Cape Henry Lighthouse. This was about midway up the spiral staircase. (Explored 10/17/2021) #NPS #CapeHenryLighthouse #U.S.NationalRegisterOfHistoricPlaces #abstract #phare #Leuchtturm #B&W #window #Fenster #fenêtre #fönster #窓
The deep blue mid-winter's day skies at Cape Henry Lighthouse in Virginia Beach, Virginia make for brilliant contrast against this national landmark.
Lighthouse (Cape Henry) / October, Fort Story, Virginia, USA / Copyright ©2014 William Tanneberger - All Rights Reserved.
The Cape Henry Lighthouse stands near the "First Landing" site of the Jamestown settlers, and was authorized by George Washington and overseen by Alexander Hamilton. Completed in 1792, the construction of the Cape Henry Lighthouse was one of the first acts of the newly formed Federal government.The lighthouse was active use for nearly a century before being replaced by a new cast iron lighthouse still standing nearby. It is one of the oldest surviving lighthouses in the United States.
Today visitors to the Cape Henry Lighthouse can climb to the top of the tower to enjoy spectacular views of the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean.
www.virginia.org/Listings/HistoricSites/CapeHenryLighthou...
Virginia Beach, VA (Fort Story Military Base)
Lighthouse (Cape Henry) / October, Fort Story, Virginia, USA / Copyright ©2014 by William Tanneberger - All Rights Reserved.
The old Cape Henry lighthouse is inextricably linked with the birth of our nation. The Aquia sandstone for its base was gathered from the same Virginia quarries that provided material for Mount Vernon, the U.S. Capitol Building, and the White House. At the first session of the first Congress in 1789, an act was passed which placed the lighthouse service under the jurisdiction of the Department of the Treasury. Included in this act was the provision for the construction of Cape Henry Lighthouse, giving it the distinction of being the first lighthouse ordered and financed by the federal government. The Virginia Assembly, mindful of its own difficulties in building the lighthouse, moved rapidly and ceded two acres in the County of Princess Anne to the United States. President Washington himself took an interest in the construction, noting in a 1790 diary entry that he had spoken with Alexander Hamilton (the Secretary of the Treasury), “respecting the appointment of Superintendents of the Light House, Buoys, etc, and for building one at Cape Henry.”
See history at www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=448
Virginia Beach, VA (Fort Story Military Base)
The Old Cape Henry Lighthouse is located on Cape Henry in Virginia Beach, Virginia, along the southern entrance to Chesapeake Bay.
Built in 1792, it was the first lighthouse authorized by the U.S. government
It was also the first federal construction project under the Constitution.
The octangular truncated lighthouse is 90 feet tall. It is built of Aquia Creek sandstone from the same source as the White House.
It was replaced in 1881. The lighthouse was acquired by Preservation Virginia and is open for tours.
PictionID:38276590 - Catalog:AL-135B 143 - Filename:AL-135B 143.tif - This image is from a photo album donated to the Museum by JL Highfill which includes images taken in the Pacific during the Second World War-----------PLEASE TAG this image with any information you know about it, so that we can permanently store this data with the original image file in our Digital Asset Management System.-----------------SOURCE INSTITUTION: San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive
It reads:
Public Works Historical Society
First Public Works Project of the United States Government.
Conservation of the Cape Henry Lighthouse was authorized by the First United States Congress on August 7, 1789.
President George Washington personally reviewed bids in January, 1791 and chose John McCombs, a New York Bricklayer, as Contractor.
Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, and the Contractor signed the contract on March 31, 1791.
Construction on the $17,700 project started August 1, 1791. The lighthouse beganits 100 years of service in the fall of 1792.
Commemorated this 28th day of August, 1981 by Public Works Historical Society and Virginia - D.C. - Maryland Chapter American Public Works Association.
The old Cape Henry Lighthouse built 1792 at Fort Story, Virginia Beach, Virginia sits in the smallest National Park in the United States.
This is a photo of the Old Cape Henry Light House. From this angle it looks like the top of the Washington Monument in DC.
Old Henry lIght house in Virginia ~this one you can climb the stairs to the top and then crawl though a small hole where you enter into the top. You will see a wonderful view.
In the lantern room of Old Cape Henry, looking towards New Cape Henry Lighthouse and the entryway into the Chesapeake Bay.
Sunday, May 2, 2010: We start our morning by having our car searched so that we can enter Fort Story and climb the old lighthouse. The very first session of the very first U.S. Congress made a law that gave the go-ahead to build this lighthouse. It was lit from 1791 to 1881, when they built this new one you see out the window.
The original Cape Henry Lighthouse stands on the highest dune at Fort Story looking over the southern entrance to the Chesapeake Bay from the Atlantic Ocean. It is in the shape of an octagon with 3 windows in the East and 4 windows in the West.
Cape Henry
Virginia Beach, VA
© All Rights Reserved
No use whatsoever without permission
The original lighthouse at Cape Henry, it was the first lighthouse authorized by the U.S. government. It was built of stone by John McComb, Jr. and was completed in October, 1792.
Tower Height: 90 feet
Material: 20 feet below sea level with Aquia stone. Diameter is 33 feet, exterior wall is 11 feet thick. It is circular for the first four feet and then is an octagonal pyramid for 92 feet to the latern. The upper part of the lighthouse is Rappahannock freestone. The lantern is an additional 13 feet.
Shape: Octagonal pyramid
Optic: Originally First-order Fresnel Lens (1857) - destroyed by Confederate Raiders. Lens was replaced in 1863. Originally burned fish oil until the early 1800s, it was then replaced by whale oil.
Decommissioned: 1881
This was a scary climb. The stairs were thin and steep (my lens doesn't do them any justice), and there weren't any landings/platforms for 95% of the way up. It was just one huge, continuous spiral staircase before reaching the lantern room.
Here's a little lighthouse history that makes the climb even more nerve-wracking. The light was finished in 1792, and in 1872, an inspection declared the tower to be unsafe as large cracks were found in six of the eight faces of the masonry. The lighthouse was to be closed, and the New Cape Henry Light was opened in 1881. So which tower do you get to climb? The old one, which was deemed unsafe in 1872 :)
Old Cape Henry Lighthouse - Built in 1792, This was the first lighthouse built by the US goverment. Deactivated in 1881 when replaced by a new lighthouse a few hundred feet away. Cape Henry is at the entrance to Chesapeake Bay. We climbed this one.
2014.06.14 - New Cape Henry Lighthouse - Cape Henry - Joint Expeditionary Base - Little Creek/Fort Story - Virginia Beach, Virginia
2014.06.14 - Old Cape Henry Lighthouse - Cape Henry - Joint Expeditionary Base - Little Creek/Fort Story - Virginia Beach, Virginia
2014.06.14 - Old Cape Henry Lighthouse - Cape Henry - Joint Expeditionary Base - Little Creek/Fort Story - Virginia Beach, Virginia