Cape Lookout National Seashore

Cape Lookout Lighthouse to Re-open

October 19, 2009, 4:16 pm

The public will once again be able to view the beauty of Cape Lookout from the top of its historic lighthouse.

Funding for repairs to allow the re-opening of the lighthouse was announced Wednesday by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar during a teleconference with Sen. Kay Hagan of North Carolina. The news of the funding comes during the ongoing commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the lighthouse.

“Standing 163 feet tall, Cape Lookout Lighthouse is one of the most recognized symbols of North Carolina as well as a national treasure, but a cloud has hung over the structure because it has not been open to the public for more than a year,” Salazar said during the teleconference. “Today I’m happy to announce that we will provide $487,000 for the repairs that will reopen the lighthouse, hopefully by the 2010 season.”