InView
An Uncrowded Day at the Beach
High Exposure
photography by HANK CARTER
Wrightsville’s Crystal Pier taken in February on a cloudy day. Photographer Hank Carter says he was
experimenting with longer exposures with his drone. While Lumina Pavilion receives much of the
notoriety when it comes to iconic south end landmarks, Crystal Pier has been and remains an enduring
relic of old Wrightsville Beach. Mira Mar was the name bestowed upon the original pier by Floyd Cox,
the builder who completed the structure in 1939. The current pier’s length is about half of the original
Mira Mar. Cox built the Mira Mar over the remains of the famed Confederate blockade-runner wreck,
the Fanny and Jenny, whose hull and machinery at the time were visible during low tide. Fortunately,
Hurricane Florence was kind to the pier and the iconic and often photographed structure remains a
popular draw year-round.
36
WBM may 2019
