Bruce Roberts

The feeling of quietude within the Currituck Beach Lighthouse complex is quickened by undertones of excitement as visitors anticipate climbing all the way up the towering lighthouse's spiral stairs and taking in an unforgettable panoramic view. This histonc northern Outer Banks site is steeped in history, architecture, romance, and mystery. Besides offering some of the best aerobics on the East Coast by climbing the tower, the Currituck Beach Light Station is part of an authentic living-history district.

Standing on "Shell Point," a spit of land at the tip of Harkers Island, one is embraced by the waters of Core Sound. Looking southeast, the Cape Lookout Lighthouse stands in solitude across a marsh-studded sound on South Core Banks, overlooking Lookout Bight on the west and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. These waters have carried the great people who have lived here: lighthouse keepers, life-saving surfmen, boatwrights, fishermen, net makers, whalers, and all those who formed independent communities that made a living from the sea.