Light Tower Off Virginia Beach Up For Auction

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) - A 120-foot-tall light tower located 14 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach is up for sale.
 
The Virginian-Pilot reports the Chesapeake Light Tower hit the auction block last month. Built in 1965, it's one of six towers - called "Texas Towers" - along the East Coast.
 
Kathryn Walsh, spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of Energy, which assumed oversight of the tower from the Coast Guard in 2012, says the goal was to create an offshore research facility. But those plans didn't work out in 2014 when the department realized that it would cost too much to upgrade the tower as a meteorological tool.
 
The tower has seven rooms. There are also generators, fuel tanks, solar panels and a power distribution room to keep the tower's utilities running.
 
The auction ends July 20.