Hog Island Lens Display

This is a beautiful and well-maintained exhibit that preserves a very important piece of maritime history.

The first Hog Island Lighthouse was built in 1852 and was a white conical brick tower. This lighthouse lasted until 1896 when it was replaced with a cast iron pyramidal skeletal tower with a central cylinder. This lighthouse was similar to the Cape Charles lighthouse today. Both lighthouses were built on what was the southern end of Hog Island. Hog Island was the northern most part of the natural barrier islands of Virginia’s Eastern Shore. By the 1920s the ocean had eroded much of the island. A hurricane in the 1930s claimed even more of the land. The lighthouse was demolished in 1948. The 10-foot high lens, a first order produced by the Henry-LePaute company in France, was removed from the lighthouse before its final destruction. It is now on display on the Portsmouth Seawall adjacent to the High Street Landing.

The view along the Elizabeth River is instructive as you can see the city of Norfolk on the other side as well as the Naval Shipyard as well as repair shipyards.

Additionally, the Fresnel lens is beautiful and we were almost alone on a public holiday with the sun breaking through the lens. It was beautiful. It is next to the naval museum.

Well worth a visit as there are no entrance fees and you get a great look at the waterways between Portsmouth and Norfolk.

Awesome restored fresnel lens from an actual lighthouse. Beautiful location and well maintained. Highly recommend this.

A nice place to see some history.

My wife adores anything “lighthouse” so as we were leaving VA Beach to return home, this stop was a no-brainer. The display was really nice as was the park in which the lens resides. A local resident cautioned us that the park should be avoided after dark. Hopefully that’s not really the circumstance, but better to be cautious.

Boring....