Fresnel Lens Talk with Theresa Levitt
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If this is a recurring event that will be happening again this year, please let us know.
If this is a recurring event that will be happening again this year, please let us know.
| Dates: | Sat from 11/15/14 - 11/15/14 |
| Hours: | 3:00 pm |
| Ages: | Adults |
| In/Outdoor: | Indoor |
| Cost: | $ see below |
| Category: | Lectures/Discussions |
One of two lenses installed on the island in 1861, this particular one had been at the United States Coast Guard Academy Museum in New London, Connecticut since the early 1980s when the Cape Ann Light Station at Thacher Island was decommissioned.
In 2011, the lens was dismantled and placed in storage at the Coast Guard’s curatorial services center in Forestville, Maryland.
As the Coast Guard had no plans to exhibit the lens again, they offered to return it to its original home on Cape Ann.
The Fresnel lens was invented in the early 1820s by French physicist Augustine-Jean Fresnel.
His design concentrated light to cast a beam which could be seen at a much greater distance than other lenses of that era.
On Thacher Island this meant the light could be seen 22 miles at sea, triple the distance of earlier apparatus.
It was built in Paris, France, in 1860, installed on Thacher Island the following year and served as a beacon for mariners for over 120 years.
It was originally lit by whale oil, then by lard oil and eventually by kerosene (mineral oil).
It was electrified in 1932 and ultimately removed by the Coast Guard in 1980.
The shinning lens stands 10 feet tall and 6 feet in diameter and is comprised of over a thousand glass prisms set in a bronze frame.
It weighs just over a ton.
First order Fresnel lenses are extremely rare.
There are only 39 in the country, three of which are in New England.
The only other one in Massachusetts is at the Martha’s Vineyard Museum in Edgartown.
Jim Dunlap works on conservation and restoration of the historic Fresnel lens at the Cape Ann Museum (2013).
The Thacher Island Lighthouse Towers are two of the oldest and most notable in North America.
The First Order Fresnel Lens that sat atop the Island's south tower for nearly 120 years has been in possession of the US Coast Guard since 1980.
Through the combined efforts of the Thacher Island Association, Cape Ann Museum and many generous supporters, the lens was returned to Cape Ann in 2013.
The Museum and the Association hired lampists James 'Woody' Woodward, Kurt Fosburg and Jim Dunlap to conserve and assemble the enormous glass structure, which is now housed in a brand new gallery space at the Cape Ann Museum.
| COST | ↑ top |
Adults: $10.00Cape Ann residents, seniors and students: $8.00Museum members and youth (under 18): FREE
| WEBSITE | ↑ top |
www.capeannmuseum.org/events/fresnel-lens-talk-theresa-levitt/
| LOCATION | ↑ top |
27 Pleasant St, Gloucester, MA, MA map
Phone: 19782830455
The Museum is located in the heart of downtown Gloucester, one block north from Main Street and one short block east of City Hall and the Sawyer Free Library. Metered parking is available in the public lot across from the Museum.
Gloucester is also easily accessible by public transportation on the MBTA commuter rail, which connects Cape Ann directly with the greater Boston area and beyond. From Boston's North Station, take the Newburyport/Rockport line to the Gloucester stop; the Museum is a short walk (0.4 miles) from the train station.
| RELATED LINKS | ↑ top |
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