This fall, one of the Outer Banks’ most beloved landmarks is turning 100. Whalehead in Historic Corolla — the bright yellow, copper-roofed Art Nouveau mansion that sits along the Currituck Sound in the heart of Corolla — celebrates its centennial this October with a month of special events that invite locals and visitors to step back in time.
"It's a very special house," says Whalehead Events Coordinator Taylor Pless of the historic house museum. "It's the last remaining opulent Art Nouveau residential home in America."
The Whalehead story begins in the 1920s, when Philadelphia industrialist Edward Collings Knight Jr. and his new bride, French-Canadian Marie Louise Lebel Knight, fell in love with Corolla during a hunting trip. Knight bought The Lighthouse Club and miles of surrounding soundfront land as a wedding gift for Marie, and together the couple envisioned a remote coastal North Carolina retreat that blended contemporary elegance with the natural world.
Edward Collings Knight Jr. and Marie Louise Lebel Knight, the original owners of Corolla Island, which later became the Whalehead Club.
Completed in 1925, their five-story home — originally called Corolla Island — was like nothing else on the Outer Banks. Brightly painted, trimmed in copper, and filled with Tiffany lamps, water-lily motifs, a Steinway piano and even a pink kitchen, the home reflected their shared love of design, entertaining, music and hunting waterfowl and expressed their penchant for the Art Nouveau style. Mrs. Knight brought Art Nouveau items from a former home in Rhode Island, so some of the contents of the home are older than the home itself. The home was remarkably modern for its time, featuring indoor plumbing, electricity and an elevator — decades before such amenities were commonplace on the Outer Banks.
The original kitchen was tiled in pink, and it still looks that way today.
The Knights visited Corolla Island every winter from 1925 to 1934, usually arriving in October, for hunting season. They also made shorter visits at other times of the year, hence an outdoor swimming pool that was once on site. They stopped coming when Mr. Knight fell ill in 1934. After he and his wife died, the Knights’ mansion sat empty for a time before it was sold to Ray Adams, who renamed it Whalehead Club and rented it as a hunting club.
During World War II the U.S. Coast Guard leased Whalehead because it was close to Norfolk, one of the most important naval bases on the Atlantic coast, and the Coast Guard men staying at Whalehead played a role in defeating the U-boats along the shores of the Outer Banks. After the war, Whalehead was home to a boys’ summer school and later a top-secret testing site for the rocket fuel that eventually took Americans to the moon.
After that, Whalehead sat empty, its splendor fading into disrepair. Many people remember exploring the dilapidated mansion in the 1970s and ‘80s. With the increasing development of the Northern Outer Banks and Corolla, the community needed to do something with the eyesore of a mansion.
Whalehead fell into disrepair in the 1970s and '80s, until Currituck County restored it to its 1920s grandeur.
The Currituck County Board of Commissioners agreed to buy the property, and Currituck County spent between $5 and $7 million on a restoration project to restore it to its 1920s grandeur, including the original canary yellow paint, copper roof, cork floors, Otis elevator, Steinway piano, Tiffany lamps and more. Thanks to Mr. Knight’s meticulous logbooks and photographs, the house today is much the same as it was when the Knights lived here.
Today Whalehead is a historic house museum that's open for self-guided tours and special event tours throughout the year. The mansion, a boathouse and a footbridge built by the Knights are all on the National Historic Register, and the majestic mansion sits alongside the Currituck Beach Lighthouse, Currituck Maritime Museum and Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education in Historic Corolla Park.
The Knights' original 122-year-old six-leg Steinway piano is a focal point of Whalehead today.
Centennial Events in October 2025
To honor a century of history, Whalehead is hosting a series of ticketed events every Wednesday in October. Pless says the events came together from the staff's deep love for the house and a desire to honor its history and its previous residents. Pless says she chose October for the events because that was typically the month the Knights would return to Corolla. She had to plan carefully to protect the house museum while still involving the community in a celebration of the home, which is why the events are held on the porch as well as off-site at the neighboring attractions.
"I wanted to involve all of Historic Corolla Park in the celebration of Whalehead because if it was not for the Knights, none of us would be here," Pless says.
October 1 – High Tea on the Front Porch
Enjoy tea, treats, and croquet on the lawn overlooking the Currituck Sound. 4 to 7 p.m. $65 per guest
October 8 – A “Knight” of Piano
Pianist Cathy Kreplin performs on Whalehead’s original Steinway in the library. Sweets provided by Sweet Sunflour. 5 to 6:30 p.m. $65 per guest
October 15 – Lecture & Behind-the-Scenes Tour
Explore rarely seen areas of Whalehead. Additoinally, there will be a free lecture on Currituck heritage at the Outer Banks Center for Wildlife Education. 9 to 10:30 a.m. $20 per guest
October 22 – Lecture & Behind-the-Scenes Tour
Another chance to see Whalehead up close, plus a free lecture on Currituck Sound hunting traditions at the Maritime Museum. 9 to 10:30 a.m. $20 per guest
October 29 – Grand Finale Centennial Event
Full details will be coming soon, but expect a fun celebration. Guests are encouraged (but not required) to dress in 1920s attire. Note: Guests should avoid spiked heels to protect Whalehead’s historic cork floors.
Call (252) 453-9040 or check the website for event details.
Other Upcoming Events
Christmas Craft Village
November 28, Whalehead in Historic Corolla Park
Enjoy arts and crafts, fine arts, baked goods and other unique treasures from local artists and vendors. The Annual Christmas Craft Village is a one-day outdoor show that also includes food and drink vendors.
Whalehead’s Candlelight Christmas Tour
November 28 to December 20, Whalehead in Historic Corolla Park
Whalehead is open for tours Monday through Friday almost all year-round, except for January and the first two weeks in February.
Want to go?
Whalehead in Historic Corolla
1100 Club Road, Corolla
(252) 453-9040
Whalehead in Historic Corolla | Northern Outerbanks
Whalehead is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tours are self-guided, with audio recording stations throughout the house. The tour lasts around 45 minutes to an hour and costs $5 to $7, depending on age and military status.
About the Author Molly Harrison
Molly Harrison is managing editor at OneBoat, publisher of OuterBanksThisWeek.com. She moved to Nags Head in 1994 and since then has made her living writing articles and creating publications about the people, places and culture of the Outer Banks.
