Vandals spark outcry after defacing Cape Hatteras Lighthouse original bronze door
Vandals sparked a social media outcry after carving into the original bronze door of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse on the Outer Banks.
“Multiple people” may have witnessed the vandals carving “letters and other shapes” into the cherished piece, Cape Hatteras National Seashore officials posted on social media with photos of the damage.
“A recent report of multiple people at the bronze door for an unusually long time has been received,” according to the post. “Additional details are not available at this time.”
Investigators don’t know when the door was vandalized, only that it happened recently, Michael Barber, spokesman for Cape Hatteras National Seashore, told The Charlotte Observer on Saturday.
The lighthouse was completed in 1870.
In June 2018, someone defaced the door by carving in the initials “SEF0,” The News & Observer reported at the time.
The bronze door “opens up to the tallest brick lighthouse in the United States,” rangers posted after the 2018 vandalism, saying the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse is “loved by visitors from all over the world.”
Last fall, the 1823 Ocracoke Light Station, the oldest operating lighthouse in North Carolina, was vandalized twice.
Social media reacted with angry and sad emojis. Dozens posted comments of dismay.
“Infuriates me!” a woman wrote.
“Heathens,” another woman posted.
Install security cameras, others suggested.
“The outer banks is not the same outer banks from years ago it’s so sad,” a woman bemoaned. “People from all over visit and do not respect it or care for it like the families that have appreciated it for generations.”
The National Park Service’s Investigative Services Branch shared the Cape Hatteras post nationwide.
“Graffiti is vandalism, and is often extremely difficult to remove,” branch officials posted with the hashtag Vandalism Hurts. “Repair of vandalized sites, if possible, is costly and time consuming — and may not restore the site to its former condition.
“The more than 420 sites across the National Park System preserve and protect our nation’s unique natural and cultural heritage,” according to the post. “When you visit, enjoy them and do no harm.”
Anyone with information is asked to call the tip line of the National Park Service’s Investigative Services Branch at 888-653-0009. Tips also can be submitted online at NPS.Gov/isb and DareCommunityCrimeLine.
This story was originally published March 20, 2021 at 10:35 AM with the headline "Vandals spark outcry after defacing Cape Hatteras Lighthouse original bronze door."