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Southeast Lighthouse Media Gallery

Southeast Lighthouse, Block Island, Rhode Island. Photograph ca. 1880.

Southeast Lighthouse, Block Island

First-Order Fresnel crystal lens in the Southeast Light. Made in Paris in 1872, the lens stands 8.5 feet in height. Photograph by Malcolm Greenaway.

Southeast Lighthouse at night. The highest lighthouse in New England, it serves as a primary coastal aid-to-navigation. Photograph by Malcolm Greenaway.

By 1984, only 80 feet of ground remained in front of the lighthouse and the Coast Guard began to consider the cost of demolishing the Southeast Lighthouse. Photograph by Judith Watts.

A travelling exhibit brought attention to the plight of the endangered lighthouse. The exhibit included a full-scale reproduction of the porch balustrades (above) made according to the original architectural plans for the lighthouse.

Southeast Light being moved to safety in August, 1993. The building was elevated on a platform of intersecting I-beams, then pushed along three railway tracks in a 3-step, zig-zag pathway to safety.

Aerial view of the Southeast Lighthouse being moved to a safer place. New York Times, August 12, 1993.

Staircase at the Southeast Lighthouse

Southeast Lighthouse. (LEFT) Architectural plans for angled struts supporting roof structure, built as four pair on second-floor, Keepers Quarters. (RIGHT) Pair of architectural struts flanking doorway from bedchamber to garret. Photograph by Judith Watts.

Stairs in light tower leading up to the lens.

Southeast Lighthouse (original architectural plans): Cross-section of Light Tower and connected Keepers Quarters. Washington DC, 1873.

Last steps leading to lens deck, with sunlight shining through its embedded glass floor panels.

Embedded glass floor panels surrounding lens, seen from below lens deck.

The Southeast Lighthouse was built in 1873 atop Mohegan Bluff on Block Island’s Southeast Point.

Southeast Light. Day meets night. Photograph by Malcolm Greenaway.

Floor plans of Southeast Lighthouse, Block Island

Storm clouds at Southeast Light. Photograph by Malcolm Greenaway.

Axonometric view of Southeast Lighthouse showing light tower and attached duplex Keepers Quarters. Historic American Engineering Record. National Park Service, 1988.

2021 Reopening

Contact Us

Southeast Lighthouse Foundation
P.O.Box 949
122 Mohegan Trail
Block Island RI 02807-0949
401-466-5009

Hours

Summer: Daily 10–4
Fall & Spring: Weekends 10–4
Winter: Closed
Grounds open daily, sunrise to sunset

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