Hours: Thursday through Sunday from 1 to 5 PM, Saturday from 10 AM. Call 860-447-2501 or email.
The Frank L. McGuire Library is open by appointment, email.
Admission: FREE for current members, individuals with current military or USCG cadet ID and children under age 14 (with adult), admission $7 suggested donation.
New London's Custom House Maritime Museum!
■ Open Mic at the Museum, meets from 6-9 PM the last Sunday of the month: Share your original music, poetry, prose, stand-up, or just say what is on your mind. Open Mic welcomes performers of all kinds. You never know who will show up! Perform, or just enjoy. By donation. Sunday, March 30, 6-9 pm, April 27, May 25.
■ JIBBOOM CLUB #1 meets the 3rd Tuesday of the month at 1:30 PM. Join us for a talk, good company, coffee & cookies. Sponsored by the Maco Family Fund, the gatherings are FREE and open to all. Tuesday, March 18, 1:30 pm,
■ Tours to climb HARBOR LIGHTHOUSE run year-round. The views at the top are spectacular! We meet at the lighthouse, then climb 116 steps to the lantern room – all the while learning about the 261-year history of Harbor Light, the oldest and the tallest lighthouse on Long Island Sound. Sign up online at https://harborlighthousetour.bpt.me/ or send an email to schedule your tour:[email protected]
■ Excursions to LEDGE LIGHT and RACE ROCK LIGHTHOUSE are delayed this season, due to restoration work. Please watch nlmaritimesociety.org for updates on all summer lighthouse tours & special programs.
three new exhibitions on view through April 2025
Community Collection -- Picturing Us at the Beach: Vintage Photography in the Studio and on the Sand, vintage photography from the collection of Lisa Kereszi
Ms Kereszi images of nearby Little Gull Island, photos taken when she visited the privately owned island in 2024 with the NL Maritime Society
Based in the shoreline town of Branford, Lisa Kereszi has been collecting vintage photographs as well as marine and seaside-related objects and ephemera since she was a child, having grown up outside of Philadelphia with regular visits to the Jersey Shore. She wrote: 'An avid beachcomber, I also use my camera as a device to “collect” moments, people, and places that I cannot otherwise take home. This exhibit represents the intersection of two of my collecting obsessions: the beach and photography. Objects that have always caught my eye as I scour flea markets and antique shops for” vernacular” photographs (family photos, snapshots) are Victorian-era souvenir “tintypes” made, presumably at or near the sea, but not outdoors, and instead in a photographer’s studio with a painted backdrop on canvas or other material.'
NLMS librarian Laurie Deredita's annotated 1874 map of the New London waterfront
Laurie Deredita is the librarian of the New London Maritime Society's Frank L. McGuire Library, where she has volunteered for the past 16 years.