Cape Lookout Lighthouse Stabilization Project - Spring / Summer 2026 Update

The frame of the lantern room after the metal was removed.

NPS Photo

From late Spring through the Summer months of 2026, visits to the Lighthouse Beach and the Keepers Quarters Museum increased, as usual. The park worked to keep visitors access open where available in a safe manner around the lighthouse grounds while stabilization work continued. The interior scaffolding was fully operational by Spring and now work was in full swing within the lighthouse stairwells and walls, as well as on the exterior with the completion of that scaffolding.

Key Highlights from April – May 2026:

• Removal of top, metal exterior of the lighthouse (the lantern room, the gallery railing, the watch level, and the iron roof).

• In removing the metal portions of the lighthouse, the brick that made the wall of the lantern room was demolished to get all the metal floor plates and the viewing gallery disassembled. The historic brick removed will be sorted through and cleaned to be reused. New brick will replace any historic brick that cannot be salvaged.

• Overall, the metal components removed consist of approximately 65,000 lbs. That weight, plus the weight of brick (approximately another 65,000 lbs.) that had to be removed to get all the metal out, plus the weight of any concrete (approximately 10,000 lbs.) and glazing (about 24,000 lbs.); All together roughly 164,000 lbs. was removed from the top of the lighthouse structure.

• The single heaviest metal part that was lowered by mechanical gantry, the pedestal (that the lighthouse beacon sits on) weighs 1,738 lbs.

• All metal was documented, removed piece-by-piece, lowered by mechanical gantry system, and packed securely. Then, they were sent to TD Eure’s dock in Beaufort on a barge, where the priceless pieces were loaded on a truck for transport to the Robinson Iron’s workshop in Alexander City, AL.

Key Highlights from June 2026:

• Exterior paint removal begins by testing for the least invasive method that can be used on the historic masonry. Either sponge media blasting or chemical stripping are tested in small areas. Results will take several weeks before determining which method is the best in preserving the lighthouse walls inside and out.

• Exterior paint testing begins with mock-ups, or two mineral-stain-based paints, Keim and Beek paint. Both paints are high performance that allow air to flow through the bricks (allowing for ‘breathability’) and are made for the seaside conditions where the lighthouse stands. The test plots are 6-foot x 8-foot, side by side to monitor over the next several months to see which paint holds up the best.

• The 1980’s steel beams that had been holding the metal top to the lighthouse is fully removed and the new advanced method of securing the metal top levels of the lighthouse, the Cintec system, is installed. The Cintec Anchor System is a steel bar enclosed in a mesh fabric sleeve into which a special grout is injected into the drilled holes within the lighthouse walls. The anchors will hold the top of the lighthouse discretely and securely into the future.

Tags: cape lookout national seashore, cape lookout lighthouse stabilization project