Wright Brothers National Memorial

Wright Brothers National Memorial
Monument at Wright Brothers National Memorial
Location1000 North Croatan Highway
Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina.
Coordinates36°00′51″N 75°40′04″W / 36.0143°N 75.6679°W / 36.0143; -75.6679
Area428 acres (173 ha)
ArchitectRobert Rodgers and Alfred Easton Poor
Architectural styleArt Deco
Visitation406,593 (2024)
Websitewww.nps.gov/wrbr/index.htm
NRHP reference No.66000071
Significant dates
AuthorizedMarch 2, 1927
Added to NRHPOctober 15, 1966
Designated NMEMDecember 4, 1953
Designated NHLJanuary 3, 2001

Wright Brothers National Memorial (originally the Kill Devil Hill Monument), located in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, commemorates Wright Flyer; the first successful, sustained, powered flights in a heavier-than-air machine. From 1900 to 1903, Wilbur and Orville Wright came to North Carolina from Dayton, Ohio, based on information from the U.S. Weather Bureau about the area's steady winds. They also valued the privacy provided by this location, which in the early twentieth century was remote from major population centers.