Skip to main content

East End Seaport Museum & Marine Foundation

East End Seaport Museum & Marine Foundation

Among the more popular exhibits at the museum are the Fresnel lenses. The Second Order Fresnel lens is shown on the right. Second Order lenses, especially in this condition, are uncommon. In the photo you can see that this was a fixed, as opposed to rotating, light. The middle of the lens is a band that emits a solid sheet of light, rather than a bulls eye which would emit a flash from a rotating optic. The lens served at the Little Gull Island lighthouse from 1869 until 1995.

We hope you enjoy our work.

Please support this 72-year tradition of trusted historical writing and the volunteers that sustain it with a donation to American Heritage.

Donate