{"nrhp_refnum":"73001333","name":"Currituck Beach Lighthouse","other_names":["Whaleshead Lighthouse"],"category":"structure","location":{"address":"Northern NC Outer Banks","address_restricted":false,"city":"Corolla","county":"Currituck County","state":"NC","lat":36.37154108100003,"lon":-75.82603672299996,"geom_source":"nps_gis"},"listed_date":"1973-10-15","is_nhl":false,"nhl_designated_date":null,"areas_of_significance":["Commerce","Transportation","Architecture"],"significance_levels":["state"],"summary":{"what_it_is":"A 158-foot red brick lighthouse on the isolated northern Outer Banks of North Carolina near Corolla, completed in 1875, with an attached brick dependency and a nearby keeper's duplex dwelling.","why_significant":"It was the last of three major lighthouses built on the North Carolina coast and was meant to fill the gap in coastal lighting between Cape Henry, Virginia, and Bodie Island. The nomination also argues that its architectural quality sets it above ordinary utilitarian buildings. Together with the ornate Gothic-influenced keeper's cottage, it is tied to the history of the Outer Banks.","narrative":"Currituck Beach Lighthouse rises 158 feet above an isolated stretch of North Carolina's northern Outer Banks, about twenty miles below the Virginia border. Completed in 1875, it is a red brick tower laid in common bond, with a polygonal glass lantern, a broad gallery on large ornate iron brackets, and segmental-arched windows framed in molded brick. A small brick building at its base is dated 1873 over the door, and a two-story frame keeper's duplex with Gothic cottage touches stands about a hundred feet west. The light was built to warn ships between Cape Henry, Virginia, and Bodie Island, and it was the last of three major lighthouses on the state's coast. Construction cost $178,000 on a tract bought for $75. Its beam is visible for fifteen miles. The nomination values its graceful design, the matching keeper's house, and its links to hunting clubs, a lifesaving station, and the village of Corolla. The keeper's house is deteriorated but sound.","period_of_significance":"19th Century (specific date 1875)","architect_builder":null,"architectural_style":"Keeper's residence described as having suggestions of the Gothic cottage style","criteria":[],"status_note":"Lighthouse functions automatically, casting its beam seaward every twenty seconds; keeper's house is deteriorated but structurally sound.","vacant_flag":null,"machine_generated":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","prompt_version":"v1.0-2026-10-29","generated_at":"2026-10-29 02:58:56.957445-05","source_pdf":"https://s3.amazonaws.com/NARAprodstorage/opastorage/live/64/7198/47719864/content/electronic-records/rg-079/NPS_NC/73001333.pdf"},"photo":{"url_800":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001333/59aad351cc-800.webp","url_1600":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/media/73001333/59aad351cc-1600.webp","licence":"CC BY-SA 4.0","author":"Carolyn Coleman","credit_html":"<a href=\"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:99000911_currituck.jpg\" rel=\"noopener\">Carolyn Coleman</a>, <a href=\"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0\" rel=\"license noopener\">CC BY-SA 4.0</a>, via Wikimedia Commons","source_page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:99000911_currituck.jpg"},"district":null,"sources":{"nps_snapshot_date":"2026-05-22","nara_catalog":"https://catalog.archives.gov/id/47719864","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Currituck_Beach_Light","wikidata":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3308122"},"indexable":true,"url":"https://nationalhistoricalregister.com/north-carolina/currituck-county/currituck-beach-lighthouse-73001333/"}