Oak Island Lighthouse
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The Oak Island Lighthouse is currently part of the United States Coast Guard station on Oak Island in North Carolina.
It is one of the newest lighthouses in the United States. It was completed in 1958, is made from concrete, and stands 169 feet (51.5 meters) tall. It replaced the Cape Fear Lighthouse, a steel skeleton lighthouse near Cape Fear on Bald Head Island. (That lighthouse was demolished afterwards to avoid confusion.) The lighthouse marks the mouth of the Cape Fear River with the second most powerful beacon in the world, only surpassed by a French lighthouse along the English Channel. It can be seen for 19 miles, which is needed to help ships avoid the dangerous Frying Pan Shoals. The heat given off by the light is so intense that workers must wear protective clothing in order to do repairs. Even then, they are only able to work on it for a short time. It has become the symbol for Oak Island and can be seen on many of the souvenirs sold there. It was recently designated as surplus by the Coast Guard (though it intends to continue operating the beacon). The town of Caswell Beach was recently given ownership of the lighthouse and adjacent oceanfront property by the Federal Government in return for its agreement to maintain the property for parks and recreation purposes. The lighthouse is not open to the public at this time.
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