Block Island Southeast Lighthouse

Southeast Lighthouse on BI, Photo by +Brendon Roderman 

Location: Mohegan Bluffs, Block Island RI

Coordinates: 410910N 713304W

Station Established: 1875

Deactivated: 1990

Relighted: 1994

Tower Height: 52 feet

Focal Plane Height: 261 feet

Last Friday I enjoyed a much needed day off from work and traveled to Block Island with my boyfriend and his family. I had been to Block Island a few times before with friends, but only went as far as Ballard’s Beach. We took the high speed ferry in the morning and arrived a little before 10am. Then we went to Aldo’s and rented Mopeds. The last time I had been on the island we rented bikes, like bicycles. Unless you’re an avid biker, I would splurge and get the moped. BI is very hilly and I don’t think I would have lasted the day on a bicycle.

So we rented mopeds and headed out away from the main part of town to see the sights. The one thing B and I really wanted to see was the Southeast Lighthouse.

BI is surrounded by dangerous shoals and ledges, and many ships were wrecked off its coastline in inclement weather. In 1872 Nicholas Ball, a local BI merchant petitioned for a lighthouse on the southeast coast, saying that the southeast coastline of BI was “exposed to as much danger as at almost any other place on the entire coast of the United States”. Congress listened, and $75,000 was granted to build the lighthouse.

The lighthouse was to serve as an architectural showcase on the island. It melded Italian and gothic revival styles together. The keeper’s house is attached to the tower as a 2 ½ story duplex residence. It is built out of brick with a granite block foundation. The tower itself is topped with a 16 sided cast iron lantern.

One of the most interesting things about the lighthouse is that it was moved to its current location. When it was first built by Mohegan Bluffs, it was around 300 feet away from the edge of the bluff. By 1990 when the lighthouse was deactivated, the bluff had eroded so significantly that the lighthouse was only 55 feet away from the edge. The building was then listed as one of Americas most endangered structures by the National Trust for Historic Preservation. The Block Island Southeast Lighthouse foundation was able to raise $2 million dollars to save the endangered building. In August of 1993 the historic building was moved to its present location on the island today, around 300 feet away from the bluffs.

When we visited the lighthouse we were able to walk into a small area inside the base of the tower. This is where the spiral stair case up to the top of the tower began. I was disappointed that you had to pay for a “tour” in order to travel up the staircase to the top of the tower. Hopefully next time we travel to BI we’ll book time for a tour. I overhead the gift shop attendant telling another person how the light from the lighthouse is the highest of any along the Atlantic coastline. This is because the 51 foot height tower sits on top of the bluffs that are 210 feet above sea level, giving the light an overall focal plane height of 261 feet.

The southeast lighthouse is a must see for anyone, architecture lover or not, traveling to Block Island. You can get more information about this historic building and site here

-A