Lighthouses of the Great Lakes

Jim Lammers, FAIA, was educated as an architect back when freehand sketching was an integral part of the curriculum. He holds degrees in architecture from Columbia University and Iowa State University. In addition to his private practice, Jim taught in the architecture program at the University of Minnesota for 18 years. He currently teaches travel sketching at Marine Mills Folk Art Center in Marine on St Croix, Minnesota.

A persistent writer and relentless sketcher, Jim has been published in a number of professional journals and on websites. His drawings have been exhibited at Landmark Center, Hallburg Center for the Arts, Phipps Art Center, and ArtReach. His books, Capture the Moment: An Architect’s Guide to Travel Sketching, and Barns of the St Croix Valley: An Architect’s Sketchbook have been published by ORO Editions.

When not absorbed in writing or sketching, Jim enjoys working as arborist on his 100-year-old farmstead.

I don’t recall anything like this book. It’s a thoroughly original and delightful combination of whimsical sketchbook, personal journal, and pertinent history highlights. This is the perfect coffee table book. It can be picked up and opened to any page at random, resulting in instant enchantment. I have no doubt that it will create far-reaching ripples to inspire future lighthouse preservationists, historians, and sketchers.” —Jeremy D’Entremont, Author, and Historian, United States Lighthouse Society

Lammers invites the reader to accompany him on a journey of discovery as he travels around the Great Lakes sketching its many lighthouses and sharing the information he has gathered about their past and present…lighthouses remain as magnets to travelers drawn to their often scenic locations and interested in the maritime heritage of the Great Lakes. Enjoy the journey!” —Wayne S. Sapulski, Author, and Historian, Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association,

This charming book is a personal tribute to Great Lakes lighthouses. Author, architect, and artist, Jim Lammers gives us more than just the drawings he sketched while on his journey around the lakes. He gives us a history lesson as well. The author’s sojourn is a roadmap for lighthouse afficionados. Lammers puts you in the car with him.” —Sherry Nelson, Board Member, Great Lakes Lighthouse Keepers Association

If you love the Great Lakes and lighthouses, this is the book for you. Lammers is an entertaining guide for this illuminating adventure, combining fascinating history and personal vignettes with wonderful sketches of the noble beacons he encounters along the way. Don’t be surprised if, after reading this book, you want to hop into your car to take your own lighthouse tour.” —Eric Jay Dolin, author of Brilliant Beacons: The History of the American Lighthouse

In a book like this, with drawings, together with views and thoughts from an engaged artist, it moves more into poetry and should be read as such. And you surely need also this kind of approach to lighthouses if you love them.” —Magnus Rietz, Pharologist, Author and Photographer

ISBN: 978-1-961856-24-0
Binding: Softbound
Pages: 202pp
Publication Date: Fall 2024
Size: 10″ x 10″ Square
World Rights: Available