Hello, everyone,
We've been doing research at the National Archives in Washington, DC. We're getting this news out a bit late, but we thought you would like to see a few images concerning the move. Another update is coming Friday. The attached images are courtesy the National Park Service.

At 1:22 PM Friday, July 9, 1999, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse reached home. The National Historic Landmark now hovers over the new foundation that will become its permanent residence for the next century and beyond. Joe Jakubik, project manager for International Chimney, comments that the move
has progressed well and movers, including the Matyiko brothers of Expert House Movers, are very happy with the accomplished engineering feat.

On Monday, movers will begin to pull the support steel and reinstall the shoring towers. In about two weeks bricklayers will begin to build the permanent support columns that will conjoin the underside of the lighthouse with the concrete pad to form the strong, new foundation.

The Park Service is working on details to relight the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse during this upcoming Labor Day weekend. Watch for details on www.nps.gov/caha We will also keep you posted as we receive information here at the Outer Banks Lighthouse Society.

The tower is planned to be reopened for climbing Memorial Day, 2000.

In the first photo, you get a look from the summit of the tower. A gorgeous view of the ocean awaits future visitors. In this image, you are looking back at the move corridor and the original site.



In the second photo, a view of the new light station's relocation site can be seen; when visitors climb the lighthouse next year, a beautiful view of the Pamlico Sound, beyond the new site, will complete the panoramic view of Hatteras island, the sound, and the Atlantic Ocean.



In the third photo, the Hatteras Lighthouse nears its final destination. Legend has it that the movers got a speeding ticket for running a stop sign posted at the midpoint near the visitors center. The last message received reports that the movers were excused for this oversight.




Jerry Allegood, Raleigh News & Observer's journalist, wrote an excellent article in Saturday's, July 10, newspaper "Lighthouse safe at home." Jerry begins, "Defying critics who said it would crumble and crack, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse safely ended its half-mile journey about three weeks
early Friday, with its tower intact...Jubilant workers cheered as the
spiral-striped landmark slid into place over a concrete pad 2,900 feet away from the old site near the ocean's edge. The landward retreat to protect the lighthouse from erosion took just 22 days...'All right!' said mover Jim Matyiko as the lighthouse slowly rolled to a stop. 'It feels good.'"

In an earlier News & Observer article by columnist Susanna Rodell, Tuesday, June 29, "N.C. can take heart from a symbolic move," Rodell makes observations on the move while she visited Hatteras. "What I was watching was a mammoth act of human will, a huge, unusual effort being made to save something solely because of its place in our emotions, in our collective history. It was, and is, an enormous act of love. All these humans, from the guys in hard hats drivimg the forklifts to the members of all the
historical societies to the engineers to the Park Service folks, working their hearts out...It does the heart good to know that here in the late 20th century people are still willing to put all this collective wisdom and energy--not to mention millions of bucks--to work to save something that's
really just a symbol, not religious, not political, just something tall and grand and old that has stood there all those years delivering the purest gift imaginable: light."

For a look at an archive of move updates over the past several months from the OBLHS, see ecnews.outer-banks.com

Outer Banks Lighthouse Society
Next update Friday, July 16

Thanks to all of you sending words of thanks and encouragement. Keep those comments and suggestions coming. You may reserve a copy of the new book CAPE HATTERAS: AMERICA'S LIGHTHOUSE, hot off the press, from Cumberland House by Thomas Yocum, Bruce Roberts, and Cheryl Shelton-Roberts. Bruce and I will sign copies at the Christmas Shop in Manteo, NC, this Thursday. You
may reserve a signed copy by calling 252/473 2838 and the Christmas Shop will ship it to you.