PROVIDENCE JOURNAL - Lifebeat section
01:00 AM EDT on Tuesday, July 26, 2005
 

BY MICHAEL JANUSONIS
Journal Arts Writer
 

NEWPORT -- Traditional lighthouses may have become obsolete, but they have also become the stuff of romantic legend.

The histories, legends and heroic rescues associated with the 30 that served as safe beacons for sailors over the centuries across the state are explored in the lovely documentary Rhode Island's Historic Lighthouses, which will have its world premiere at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Jane Pickens Cinema, 48 Touro St., as a benefit for the Rose Island Lighthouse Foundation.

Emmy-winning videographer Jim Karpeichik spent the last two years on the film for Cranston's Ocean State Video. The 47-minute film encompasses everything from the Beavertail Light, which is the third oldest lighthouse in the United States, to ones that were destroyed in the 1938 hurricane that ripped up Narragansett Bay. Many of the 21 that still stand are visited, some in gorgeous flyover shots.

There are stories of heroic Ida Lewis in Newport and stories of modern-day heroes who have rescued some of the lighthouses from ruin with loving restoration projects. The 2000 National Historic Lighthouse Preservation Act, which allowed unused lighthouses to be transferred to private entities, has helped bring some of the local lighthouses back to life. These include the Rose Island Light and the Plum Island Light, on a rocky outcropping in the shadow of the Jamestown Verrazano Bridge.

Where lighthouses no longer exist, we can see them in old photos and paintings on screen. Historians and restorationists give lots of background information about the lighthouses. These include stories of the restoration work on Block Island's two lighthouses. The imposing Southeast Light, for instance, was moved several years ago so it wouldn't fall into the sea.

Rhode Island's Historic Lighthouses is a glorious looking film. Tickets are $20. There will be a cash bar for beer, wine and soda; popcorn will be complimentary. You can buy tickets at the Jane Pickens box office before showtime or in advance from the Rose Island Lighthouse Foundation at (401) 847-4242. For more information visit www.roseisland.org. The film also is scheduled to be screened on Channel 36, beginning Aug. 11. A DVD copy of the film will also be sold at the Jane Pickens for $20.