Chesapeake Light, Chesapeake Bay, Virginia
CHESAPEAKE LIGHT
Location: 14.5 MILES EAST OF CAPE HENRY
Station Established: 1930 (Lightship Station)
Year Current Tower(s) First Lit: 1965
Operational: YES
Automated: YES 1980
Deactivated: n/a
Foundation Materials: STEEL PILE
Construction Materials: STEEL/CONCRETE
Height: 120’ above mean high water
Tower Shape: SQUARE
Markings/Pattern: BLUE TOWER ON WHITE SUPERSTRUCTURE
Relationship to Other Structure: INTEGRAL
Original Lens: DCB 224
Historical Information:
- The station was originally established in 1930 as a lightship station.
- The "Texas Tower" was built in 1965 and was automated in 1980.
- The Chesapeake Light Tower stands 13 miles offshore in the Atlantic Ocean off Virginia Beach. This steel tower is 120 feet tall. The tower is supported by four 33 inch concreted filled steel pilings driven 180 feet into the ocean bottom. Besides its current use as an automated station, the Chesapeake Light Tower is also the site of scientific experimentation by NOAA to collect data on ocean properties and weather.
- It was scheduled to be decommissioned and demolished in 2004.