360° Panoramic Photographs
Cape Hatteras Light Station
Cape Hatteras National Seashore, Buxton, NC
These 360° panoramic photographs by Heritage Documentation Programs of the National Park Service are intended to provide virtual access to the Cape Hatteras lighthouse and grounds.
A more interactive and immersive virtual tour created with these panoramic images is also available:
Link to immersive tour.
Visit the Cape Hatteras National Seashore website for more information about the park.
Lighthouse Entryway
Entering the lighthouse, on the wall to the left is a marble plaque with the date of construction and the original latitude and longitude coordinates of the structure before it was moved in 1999. The plaque reads: “Cape Hatteras Light House. Erected A.D. 1870. Latitude 35 degrees, 15 minutes, 14 seconds. Longitude 75 degrees, 30 minutes, 57 seconds.”
In the middle of the base floor is the weight well, a circular opening that was filled with sand and served as a spot where the weights connected to the lens could be lowered to facilitate maintenance such as cable repair or replacement. The well also protected the marble floors should the weights become disconnected from the weight cable and plummet to the ground.
The riveted bronze entrance doors have three panels. The interior walls and barrel-vaulted ceiling of the entryway are load-bearing, brick painted- white. The floors are of black and white marble laid out in a checkerboard pattern. The circular weight well is surrounded by a waist-height railing. The railing, doorframes and spiral staircase are cast iron and painted red.
Inside the Base of the Lighthouse
The three barrel-vaulted alcoves located along the cylindrical interior brick wall were originally used for fuel storage before a separate building was built outside the lighthouse to store all the fuel. Whale oil was used as the fuel for the light until the late 1800s and then kerosene was used up until the time the light was electrified in the 1930s.
The brick walls are painted white. An old, red-painted, cast iron fuel storage tank is situated in the middle alcove. A red-painted, cast iron spiral staircase leading up to Landing 1 begins at the alcove to the left.
Landing 1
Attached at the landing edge is a vertical cast iron rail system for guiding the weights that turned the original light. These metal rails were not an original component. They were later added to guide the weights that powered the clockwork mechanism which turned the light. The rails prevented the weights from swinging excessively as they descended.
On Landing 1, there is a brick barrel-vaulted alcove leading to a window that faces south. The surrounding maritime forest is visible outside the window. The floor is black and white marble laid in a checkerboard pattern. A red-painted, cast iron spiral staircase leading up to Landing 2 is visible at the perimeter of the cylindrical interior brick wall, which is painted white.
Landing 2
On Landing 2, there is a brick barrel-vaulted alcove leading to a window that faces north. The floor is black and white marble laid in a checkerboard pattern. A red-painted, cast iron spiral staircase leading up to Landing 3 is visible at the perimeter of the cylindrical interior brick wall, which is painted white. Attached at the landing edge is a vertical cast iron rail system for guiding the weights that turned the original light.
Landing 3
On Landing 3, there is a brick barrel-vaulted alcove leading to a window that faces south. The floor is black and white marble laid in a checkerboard pattern. A red-painted, cast iron spiral staircase leading up to Landing 4 is visible at the perimeter of the cylindrical interior brick wall, which is painted white. Attached at the landing edge is a vertical cast iron rail system for guiding the weights that turned the original light.
Landing 4 - Halfway
The lighthouse keepers that were responsible for maintaining and operating the lighthouse would carry by hand two 5-gallon containers of fuel to the top every single day. These landings were nice spots for those keepers to stop and take breaks on their way up to the top of the lighthouse.
On Landing 4, there is a brick barrel-vaulted alcove leading to a window that faces north. A sign on the wall indicates that this is the halfway point to the top of the lighthouse. The floor is black and white marble laid in a checkerboard pattern. A red-painted, cast iron spiral staircase leading up to Landing 5 is visible at the perimeter of the cylindrical interior brick wall, which is painted white. Attached at the landing edge is a vertical cast iron rail system for guiding the weights that turned the original light.
Landing 5
On the Landing 5, there is a brick barrel-vaulted alcove leading to a window that faces south. From this height, the ocean and Cape Point are coming into view from the window. The floor is black and white marble laid in a checkerboard pattern. A red-painted, cast iron spiral staircase leading up to Landing 6 is visible at the perimeter of the cylindrical interior brick wall, which is painted white. Attached at the landing edge is a vertical cast iron rail system for guiding the weights that turned the original light.
Landing 6
As you ascend the Lighthouse the window alcoves become shallower at each landing. This is because the lighthouse is made up of two walls, an inner wall which is plumb and an outer wall which tapers. It is at this landing where those 2 walls join to form a solid wall the remainder of the way up the lighthouse.
On Landing 6, the floor is black and white marble, laid in a checkerboard pattern, with a wall height window that faces south. The floor is black and white marble laid in a checkerboard pattern. A red-painted, cast iron spiral staircase leading up to Landing 7 is visible at the perimeter of the cylindrical interior brick wall, which is painted white. Attached at the landing edge is a vertical cast iron rail system for guiding the weights that turned the original light.
Landing 7
On Landing 7, the floor is black and white marble laid in a checkerboard pattern, with a wall height window that faces south. A red-painted, cast iron spiral staircase leading up to Landing 8 is visible at the perimeter of the cylindrical interior brick wall, which is painted white. Attached at the landing edge is a vertical cast iron rail system for guiding the weights that turned the original light.
Landing 8
At night while the light was lit and operating, a lighthouse keeper had to be at the top with of the lighthouse at all times in order to keep watch for ships in distress and to make sure the light was relit immediately if it were to ever go out.
On Landing 8, the floor is red-painted cast iron with a diamond-texture. There are three red-painted, cast iron-framed windows: one facing north, one facing east, and one facing south. There is an open red metal door that leads to the remaining steps, which are enclosed on either side with metal walls. These steps provide access to the top of the lighthouse. The vertical cast iron rail system for guiding the weights, that turned the original light ends at this landing level.
Top Level
The Top Level room originally housed the giant, weight-driven clockwork mechanism that was used to rotate the Fresnel Lens.
The circular interior walls are constructed from white-painted, load bearing brick. The black-painted cast iron door with red-painted cast iron frame is open and leads to the lighthouse balcony. The remaining spiral stairs painted gray lead up to the Lantern Room, where the light is located. The underside of the cast iron walkway of the Lantern Room is visible at ceiling height. There is a circular opening at the center of the ceiling, spanned by an aluminum platform, with views into the Lantern Room above. The floor is red-painted cast iron with a diamond-texture. In the center of the room sits a waist-height, circular wood platform painted- red, indicating the placement of the original clockwork mechanism which rotated the Fresnel Lens.
Balcony - South
From this vantage point, Cape Point is easily visible. Stretching out from this point is the beginning of the Diamond Shoals, a series of dynamic underwater sandbars that extend out 10 to 12 miles. Just offshore from this location is also the point where the Gulf Stream and Labrador Currents meet in the Atlantic Ocean. The shoals and confluence of currents are what make these waters so treacherous and earned this area the nickname “Graveyard of the Atlantic.”
The south side of the balcony is in front of an open black cast iron door leading to the interior of the lighthouse with views of the Atlantic Ocean. The balcony encircles the cylindrical Top Level of the lighthouse, which is completely sheathed in black-painted cast iron. The floor is diamond-textured and has a perimeter railing, both also made of black-painted cast iron. The lantern and lantern balcony are visible above.
Balcony - West
The west side of the lighthouse balcony has views of a green maritime forest, the Atlantic Ocean and the Pamlico Sound in the distance.
The balcony encircles the cylindrical Top Level of the lighthouse, which is completely sheathed in black-painted cast iron. The floor is diamond-textured and has a perimeter railing, both also made of black-painted cast iron. The lantern and lantern balcony are visible above.
Balcony - North
On the North side of the of the balcony the view includes the Principal Keeper’s Quarters and the Double Keeper’s Quarters on the grounds below, as well as the Pamlico Sound with the Village of Buxton visible in the distance. The two keepers’ quarters would have housed the three lighthouse keepers and their families while they were stationed at the lighthouse.
The balcony encircles the cylindrical Top Level of the lighthouse, which is completely sheathed in black-painted cast iron. The floor is diamond-textured and has a perimeter railing, both also made of black-painted cast iron. The lantern and lantern balcony are visible above.
Balcony - East
In 1999, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was relocated from its original location to protect it from the everchanging shoreline of the barrier island. The lighthouse traveled 2900 feet inland from the beach, to its current site through the clearing that is still visible. Today, the lighthouse sits approximately 1500 feet away from the shoreline, the same distance as when it was constructed in its original location in 1870.
On the east side of the balcony the view includes the Hatteras Island Visitor Center, Keeper’s of the Light Amphitheater, and the Atlantic Ocean.
The balcony encircles the cylindrical Top Level of the lighthouse, which is completely sheathed in black-painted cast iron. The floor is diamond-textured and has a perimeter railing, both also made of black-painted cast iron. The lantern and lantern balcony are visible above
Lantern Room
One of the duties of a lighthouse keeper was to keep the glass cleaned so that the light was easily visible. Lighthouse keepers would have to regularly clean both the inside and outside of every one of the glass windows at the top of the lighthouse. Given clear conditions, the light could be visible up to 20 miles out to sea. From this vantage point the Atlantic Ocean, Pamlico Sound, Village of Buxton, and maritime forests are all visible.
The walls of the Lantern Room are glass with black-painted, cast iron frames. The ceiling is cast iron and painted a cream color. At floor level is a narrow cast-iron walkway painted gray on the perimeter of the room. A small cast-iron spiral ladder descends to the Top Level of the lighthouse. A large rectangular aluminum plate supported by aluminum I-beams spans the opening in the floor and serves as a base for the current rotating aero-beacon light.
Lantern Room Balcony
While the original Fresnel Lens is no longer extant in the lantern, the lighthouse still operates as a navigational aid. The current aero-beacon light includes two large electric lights that rotate, flashing every 7.5 seconds.
The Lantern Room has a small black cast-iron framed glass doorway that provides access to a narrow balcony which surrounds the exterior of the Lantern Room. Outside the two keeper’s quarters are visible, and inside the current aero-beacon light is visible.
Cape Hatteras Lighthouse
Standing 198.5 feet tall, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is the tallest brick lighthouse in North America. Today, the lighthouse still serves as a navigational aid and is managed in a joint effort by the United States Coast Guard and the National Park Service.
To the left sits the Oil House. In 1892, this small brick building was built to relocate the fuel storage from inside the lighthouse base. Every day the lighthouse keepers would fill up and carry two containers of fuel from the oil house all the way to the top of the lighthouse.
A brick sidewalk leads to the lighthouse entrance. The lighthouse is a cylindrical brick structure painted with a black and white spiral stripe, tapering upward from an octagon-shaped, red-brick and granite base and topped with an iron and glass lantern. A short flight of stairs leads to the doorway, which is framed in granite and surmounted by a classical pediment. The lighthouse is surrounded by a white-painted wood fence. The Oil House, a one-story load bearing-brick building with a wood-framed gable roof, sits just outside the fence. The two keeper’s quarters are visible across the grounds.
Beach - Former Lighthouse Location
When the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse was originally constructed in this location in 1870, it would have stood approximately 1500 feet away from the ocean. Due to a retreating shoreline, in 1999, the lighthouse was relocated 2900 feet inland to the location where it stands today.
This view shows a sandy shoreline with the remnants of a deteriorated metal beach groin stretching out into the Atlantic Ocean. The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse can be seen in the distance.
Lighthouse Keeper’s Quarters
The Double Keeper’s Quarters building was originally constructed in 1854 to house two lighthouse keepers and their families. The smaller white house next door is the Principal Keeper’s Quarters, constructed in 1871, which served as the living area for the principal keeper and his family. The Cape Hatteras Lighthouse usually had three lighthouse keepers, one principal keeper and two assistant keepers. Today, the Principal Keeper’s Quarters serves as office space for park staff and the Double Keeper’s Quarters serves as the Museum of the Sea.
This View of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse and grounds is from north side of the Double Keeper’s Quarters. The Double Keeper’s Quarters consist of a two-story gable roof structure with a one-story gable roof kitchen wing projecting off the west side. It is of wood frame construction and rests on brick pier foundations. The structure is clad with white clapboard siding and a wood shake roof. On the north elevation there is a one-story porch that runs the length of the two-story main block. Square columns resting on the wood porch floor support a wood shake covered shed roof above. A white wood criss-cross railing spans the openings between the columns. The one-story kitchen wing can be seen from this vantage point. A large square cistern with white cap sits at ground level in front of the wing.
The Principal Keeper’s Quarters exterior walls are load bearing brick masonry with wood framing used for the floors, interior partitions and roof. The exterior of the Principal Keeper’s Quarters consists of white-painted brick walls with wood shake roof. A white-painted, square cistern sits at the west side of the quarters. The east elevation has a one-story hipped-roof porch with white-painted square columns and criss-cross railings.
The lighthouse and oil house are to the northeast. A wide brick-paved walk connects the four structures in the grassy clearing of maritime forest.
Balcony West Sunset
Every night, regardless of the weather, the lighthouse keeper stood vigil at the top of the lighthouse to make sure the light stayed lit and to keep watch for ships in distress.
Standing on the west side of the balcony there is a view of a sunset in the distance, overlooking a green maritime forest and the Pamlico Sound. The balcony encircles the cylindrical of the lighthouse, which is completely sheathed in black-painted cast iron. The floor is diamond-textured and has a perimeter railing, both also made of black-painted cast iron. The lantern and lantern balcony are visible above.
