The reproductions of nineteenth century lighthouse design drawings on display in the Library Gallery were the proposed plans for maritime landmarks in Rhode Island and Connecticut, including local lighthouses since destroyed. These draft drawings are of the lighthouses as they were conceived; though they were not always built as their designers intended, as can be seen by the Block Island Southeast Light and perhaps even Castle Hill Light. Lights such as Whale Rock from Narragansett Beach are being shown in drawings that have remained otherwise unseen by the public until their release in this exhibit.

A narrative accompanies each of these twenty displayed lighthouse architectural drawings, discussing geographical location, lens classification and style of lighthouse structures.

Finally, all reproductions on display are available for sale on behalf of the lighthouse restoration group Breakwater Preservation Conservancy, who is responsible for arranging purchase of these limited edition sets. We wish to thank the United States Coast Guard for allowing us access to the archived file drawings. We also wish to thank the American Lighthouse Foundation, Mr. Jeremy D’Entremont, and the private collectors for permission to use selections of their images.