
DATE: Sunday, September 14, 1997            TAG: 9709110295

SECTION: CAROLINA COAST          PAGE: 34   EDITION: FINAL 

COLUMN: FUN IN THE SUN 

SOURCE: BY MARSHA BACENKO, CORRESPONDENT 

DATELINE: COROLLA                           LENGTH:   78 lines

BIRD'S-EYE VIEW BRICK BEACON BECKONS VISITORS TO COROLLA'S WINDSWEPT COAST

ON SUMMER WEEKENDS, the cars are parked all the way back to the highway. People waiting to check in to their rental cottages zoom in on the Corolla Lighthouse. And many spend an hour climbing its narrow, spiraling steps.

On this weekday afternoon after the peak tourist season has passed, there's no trace of the hordes.

The congestion of the subdivisions lies to the south. Shopping centers are only a mile away. But the area around the lighthouse is mainly undisturbed.

The unpainted red brick exterior is visually different from the other lighthouses on the Outer Banks. The Lighthouse Board issued a notice in 1873 that all lighthouses should be painted to make them distinguishable in daylight. The varied black and white patterns were already used on the other three area lighthouses, so when the Corolla lighthouse was completed in 1874, it remained in its natural state.

A history of the lighthouse and compound greets visitors as they enter the grassy grounds. Wonderful old photos and excerpts from journals frame the walls of the entranceway. Mary Gavalas cheerfully takes tickets and answers endless questions.

I was curious about the well with the coiled rope in the center of the entry room. Gavalas explained that before the lights were automated, the keeper had to manually rotate the lenses. The rope ran up the height of the lighthouse through holes on each landing. It then connected to the mechanism in the mid-lens room, came down the center and tied to weights that acted as a pendulum. The keepers' task was to crank these weights up every 2 1/2 hours.

The inside walls of Corolla's brick beacon are whitewashed, with age cracks showing in several spots. The railings and steps are dark green wrought iron and ornately curved. As you climb the circular stairs, you can poke your head a little to the right and see them winding all the way to the top.

On every second landing, there is a window with a ledge where people can take a short break from the stairs. With 214 steps to the top, most visitors stop at least once to catch their breath.

Almost at the top, facing east, the long shadow of the lighthouse stretches over the trees.

The sound of the wind is fierce and unending. It grew louder as I ascended.

Walking out onto the open parapet at the top of the lighthouse, the wind buffeted me. Two young men walked out behind me. ``Whoa! Wouldn't want to lose my hat up here,'' exclaimed Stephen Flournoy of Raleigh. I agreed. The wind was trying hard to lift the hairband off my head.

Gingerly, I inched my way around the open-air top for a look around from the 158-foot tower.

The view is incredible. Ocean, beach and greenery form a gorgeous panorama to the north and east. The manicured lawns of the stately Whalehead Club with the Currituck Sound behind them are the western view.

It is all so very peaceful now.

Until the lighthouse was built more than 120 years ago, the area was dark and dangerous for mariners. It was estimated that nearly 50 ships were grounded in the area during the two decades before the beacon illuminated Currituck County's northern shores.

After I descended and walked outside, I sat on a park bench next to the station keeper's house. Shaded by trees, I watched puffy clouds drift behind the lighthouse. The beautiful structure gave a feeling of solid comfort.

I felt it fitting that the Currituck Beach Lighthouse, which had saved so many people, was now being saved and nurtured itself.

Unlike the other Outer Banks beacons, which are owned by the U.S. Coast Guard and National Park Service, Currituck's tower is privately owned and maintained.

The $4 admission fee helps restore the buildings on the lighthouse land. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

HOW TO CLIMB IT

What: Currituck Beach Lighthouse

Where: N.C. 12 in Corolla

When: Weather permitting, daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. until

Thanksgiving

Cost: $4; children under 5 are free. No one under 18 is permitted

to climb unless accompanied by an adult.

Call: 453-4959