The Fresnel lens of the Sambro Island lighthouse, an artifact of the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic

Sambro Island
Lighthouse Lens

Date built:1906

Builder:Barbier, Bernard & Turenne

Place Built:
Paris, France

Type: First Order Fresnel Lens

Type of Construction:
Crystal glass prisms set in bronze frames

Illuminant: Petroleum Vapour burner for most of its history.

Heigth:
2.8 metres

Length:
1.76 metres

Breadth:
1.76 metres

Acccession Number:
M68.65.1-4

SAMBRO ISLAND LIGHT INSTALLED IN 1906 AND SERVING UNTIL 1967 WHEN REPLACED BY AN AIRPORT TYPE BEACON.

This first order Fresnel lens replaced earlier systems of lens and mirrors used on Sambro Island. The island marks the entrance to Halifax Harbour. A lighthouse was built on Sambro Island in 1759 and still remains in operation, the oldest operational lighthouse in North America.

For more about the history of the Sambro Island lighthouse, see the Sambro web page of the Nova Scotia Lighthouse Preservation Society.

Today the lens welcomes visitors inside the entrance to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.


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