Glittering lighthouse lens to go on public display in Maryland

A spectacular 19th century creation that’s been sitting in a Maryland office building for 40 years will soon go on public display.

It’s a sparkling Fresnel lens that used to be part of the Thomas Point Shoal Lighthouse off the shore of Annapolis.

“It kind of looks like a prism with many, many facets,” Chesapeake Bay Magazine Editorial Director Meg Viviano told WTOP. “It was designed in this ingenious way to be able to shine … up to 20 miles away, which is pretty amazing for its time in the 1800s.”

The lens ...