# "Have you Seen this Lighthouse?" **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 18, 2004, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-seen-this-lighthouse/269852 "2004-10-18T16:54:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![mangeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d78d45/32.png) [@mangeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mangeorge)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 8:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-seen-this-lighthouse/269852/21 "2005-01-08T20:10:58Z")
I’ve been looking around, and contemplating, and I have no idea how I did it, but sure as hell I stole **Thinktank** ’s thread. Sorry. In reply to the real thread, could it be that the picture is an artist’s conception of a generic lighthouse as **moriah** suggested early in this thread? ---
**Author:** ![Scruloose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)\ **Post date:** [January 8, 2005, 8:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-seen-this-lighthouse/269852/22 "2005-01-08T20:21:24Z")
> [@mangeorge](#): > > I’ve been looking around, and contemplating, and I have no idea how I did it, but sure as hell I stole **Thinktank** ’s thread. > Sorry. Huh. I figured you were just giving the thread a “courtesy bump”. **Thinktank** , is there anyway to take a digi-pic and post the image? Or at least e-mail the image to someone who can post it for you? (me, for example, if you need it) > [@Thinktank](#): > > So if these patterns are so distinct from each other then why are many of them strikingly similar to one another While lighthouses are often distinctive, some will ultimately end up looking like others. There’s only so many ways to paint them without getting crazy. Many lighthouses are just plain white with black cupolas, for example. ---
**Author:** ![Thinktank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Thinktank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thinktank)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2005, 9:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-seen-this-lighthouse/269852/23 "2005-01-09T09:40:58Z")
Well, I must say I’m impressed with many more of us dopers here lately… to the attention of Mangeorge- I can truly respect humility and for that just forget about using the thread, the added “publicity” may even solve my neglected dilemna “back when I was a detective they called me the black dog and when the black dog bites, he never let’s go”- Cowboy Bebop My brain reminds me of this quote … I get something passing through it to get done and somehow something holds it up and so the “work-order” if you will remains until I can clear it out… only it never seems to go anywhere unless I’ve done everything humanly possible in an attempt to complete it and are unable… Anyway, enough blathering away- Scruloose, thank you for your most generous offer, I believe I might accept just as soon as I get either my scanner or computer back online (Lucomserver2\_5, grrrrr) … anyway, I’ll send something your way soon Scruloose. ---
**Author:** ![Scruloose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)\ **Post date:** [January 9, 2005, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-seen-this-lighthouse/269852/24 "2005-01-09T15:08:09Z")
Roger that, I’d be glad to help. My e-mail is: [pribeks@pivot.net](mailto:pribeks@pivot.net) You may want to post a “heads up” in this thread once you e-mail me - so I don’t lose it in the tons and tons of spam I receive every day. (My spam filters are set to “Pulverize”) ---
**Author:** ![Thinktank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Thinktank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thinktank)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-seen-this-lighthouse/269852/25 "2005-01-25T08:17:17Z")
Umm Scruloose, i sent you the lighthouse pic quite a while ago, could you post in here for me please? ---
**Author:** ![Scruloose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-seen-this-lighthouse/269852/26 "2005-01-25T10:43:17Z")
> [@Thinktank](#): > > Umm Scruloose, i sent you the lighthouse pic quite a while ago, could you post in here for me please? Hmmm… I’m sorry, but I haven’t seen it. Truth be told, the filters probably got it, as I was up to 100-200 spam msgs a day. Send it to [jpribek@pivot.net](mailto:jpribek@pivot.net) and I’ll post it ASAP. The other e-mail is still valid but primarily the wifes now. ---
**Author:** ![Scruloose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2005, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-seen-this-lighthouse/269852/27 "2005-01-25T23:51:54Z")
OK dopers, we got a pic. Have you seen this lighthouse?: [Lighthouse](http://usera.imagecave.com/Scruloose/LghthsSCN.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![Madd\_Maxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Madd\_Maxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Madd_Maxx)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 12:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-seen-this-lighthouse/269852/28 "2005-01-26T00:52:32Z")
I think I found it! It looked familiar and I found [this](http://www.thelighthousepeople.com/virginia/va1_assateague.html) one in Assateague. If this isn’t the one on the sand dollar, it is _very_ similiar and maybe searching the [site](http://www.thelighthousepeople.com/US_Lighthouses.html) will turn up the exact one. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 1:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-seen-this-lighthouse/269852/29 "2005-01-26T01:01:50Z")
Possibly [Morris Island](http://www.thelighthousepeople.com/south_carolina/sc4_morris.html)? ---
**Author:** ![Madd\_Maxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Madd\_Maxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Madd_Maxx)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-seen-this-lighthouse/269852/30 "2005-01-26T01:15:58Z")
Yeah, that could be it too, but I think Assateague is the better bet because in the picture painted on the sanddollar there is grass in the foreground, and morris Island is surrounded by water. Of course wading through all the Maine lighthouses is going to take a bit more work. ---
**Author:** ![Scruloose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-seen-this-lighthouse/269852/31 "2005-01-26T01:24:19Z")
> [@Madd Maxx](#): > > Of course wading through all the Maine lighthouses is going to take a bit more work. I just did Maine - no joy. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-seen-this-lighthouse/269852/32 "2005-01-26T01:40:44Z")
> [@Madd Maxx](#): > > Yeah, that could be it too, but I think Assateague is the better bet because in the picture painted on the sanddollar there is grass in the foreground, and morris Island is surrounded by water. Of course wading through all the Maine lighthouses is going to take a bit more work. Except that the lighthouse on the sand dollar has a red/white pattern that ends with white as the top color, under the black perch and canopy, while Assateague has red as the top color. Also, the painting on the sand dollar looks like it’s painted from a perspective near the ground, which foreshortens the lighthouse and makes it look squatter than it might actually be, and would also explain why there’s grass in the foreground, if it was painted from someplace on shore. The perspective would hide the expanse of open water around the house itself. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-seen-this-lighthouse/269852/33 "2005-01-26T01:41:49Z")
> [@jayjay](#): > > The perspective would hide the expanse of open water around the house itself. It would also reduce the visible number of bands, which would make a search for an exact match, as if it were a straight-on point of view, impossible. ---
**Author:** ![Scruloose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-seen-this-lighthouse/269852/34 "2005-01-26T01:57:48Z")
Well I’m stumped. I’ve been through every lighthouse at [www.thelighthousepeople.com](http://www.thelighthousepeople.com). If I had to guess, I’d say that Morris Island, and possibly [Sabine Pass](http://www.thelighthousepeople.com/Louisiana/sabine_pass_la15.html) are the closest - with some artistic liberties taken. At any rate, **Thinktank** , I’ve taken the liberty of passing your pic on to the folks at the above website to see if they can shed any light(house) on this. ---
**Author:** ![Scruloose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@Scruloose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scruloose)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-seen-this-lighthouse/269852/35 "2005-01-26T02:04:56Z")
That was quick. I got a reply from the folks at “The Lighthouse People” (in no more than 15 minutes) > [@Sandra @ The Lighthouse People](#): > > I hate to tell you, but I believe it is a “generic” lighthouse painted out of the artist’s imagination. > It really doesn’t look like any lighthouse I have seen. > Sandra ---
**Author:** ![kdeus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b487fb/32.png) [@kdeus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kdeus)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-seen-this-lighthouse/269852/36 "2005-01-26T02:53:00Z")
The lighthouse in the picture appears to be in front (oceanside) of the sand dunes. Of the (few) Atlantic Coast lighthouses I can recall (Barnegat, Atlantic City), I don’t think any are that close to the water. They are father back, where (I assume) there is more solid land to build on. The beach sand is the part that goes away in a hurricane. -kdeus not a lighthouse keeper ---
**Author:** ![Madd\_Maxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Madd\_Maxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Madd_Maxx)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-seen-this-lighthouse/269852/37 "2005-01-26T02:57:42Z")
I doubt it’s Sabine Pass because if it’s in LA, then it’s on the Gulf of Mexico (If my geography is to be trusted @ 10 in the evening), and the OP mentions the Atlantic. Also, having actually been to Assateague Island and growing up in MD, VA and now living in PA, the grasses and dunes are right for that area of the Chesapeake Bay. I’m also sure I have seen similar things for sale in nearby tourist trap Ocean City, MD. The minor discrepencys could very well be chalked up to artistic liscence. Too bad it isn’t a photograph, then we could be sure. ---
**Author:** ![Madd\_Maxx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Madd\_Maxx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Madd_Maxx)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-seen-this-lighthouse/269852/38 "2005-01-26T02:59:52Z")
> [@kdeus](#): > > The lighthouse in the picture appears to be in front (oceanside) of the sand dunes. Of the (few) Atlantic Coast lighthouses I can recall (Barnegat, Atlantic City), I don’t think any are that close to the water. They are father back, where (I assume) there is more solid land to build on. The beach sand is the part that goes away in a hurricane. And that is why they actually picked up and moved the light house near Cape Hatterass. Also there are many lighthouses that are actually _in_ the water. ---
**Author:** ![Thinktank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/6a8cbe/32.png) [@Thinktank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thinktank)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-seen-this-lighthouse/269852/39 "2005-01-26T04:18:22Z")
Hey guys, how’s it going? I saw the one about being a “generic lighthouse” that’s depressing… I personally believe it to exist or it _existed_ in either Virginia or S. Carolina… I say that because those are the only two places my family has lived while I have been in this world. The sand dollar artist was more than likely funding their livelyhood with the influx or tourist to the beach area by painting a representation of a local lighthouse as a “keepsake souvenir” or what have you. The colors are so much nicer in person, i’m going to have to photo edit that thing I sent Scruloose and resend… that looks more horrible than I thought it would… I am secretly hoping that this lighthouse is here in SC so that I can make a day-trip out iof my search instead of …well… it might not be worth my time, if this is indeed from Virginia… ☹ ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [January 26, 2005, 4:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-seen-this-lighthouse/269852/40 "2005-01-26T04:21:45Z")
> [@Thinktank](#): > > The colors are so much nicer in person, i’m going to have to photo edit that thing I sent Scruloose and resend… that looks more horrible than I thought it would… I am secretly hoping that this lighthouse is here in SC so that I can make a day-trip out iof my search instead of …well… it might not be worth my time, if this is indeed from Virginia… ☹ If it’s not too long a trip, I’d check out Morris Island lighthouse. Allowing for artistic license and a low-to-ground point of view (probably out on the dunes), my hunch is that that’s it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-seen-this-lighthouse/269852.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/have-you-seen-this-lighthouse/269852.md?page=3)