Howie Sneider photographs of Narragansett Bay military installations
In 2025 the US Naval War College Archive accepted a portfolio of my photographs. The 37 images were taken between 200 and 2025 and assembled into a collection that shows the decay and current state of many Formerly Used Defense Sites from around the Naragansett bay.
I believe that these sites and structures are an uncomfortable reminder of the worst of our human tendencies towards war and abuse, and yet some of them also represent a literal defense from fascists. I am embarrassed by their proliferation and environmental impact, and seek to document them so we can continue to measure and discuss the true costs of war, on the homefront.
"37 born digital photographs in Tagged Image File Format (TIFF) of former military installations in Narragansett Bay including the remaining facilities structures in North Kingstown, Jamestown, Prudence Island, and Hope Island. "
All images were captured by Howie Sneider between 2000 and 2025.
From the archive Description:
"In 2023-2024, Mr. Sneider was an artist-in-residence with the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management and the Narragansett Bay National Estuarian Research Reserve. He spent a year surveying and photographing the remaining military structures on Prudence and Hope Islands using NWC’s historical records, manuscripts, and museum objects to inform his work. Several of the photographs in this collection stem directly from his residency."
Special Thank to: Stacie M. Parillo at the USNWC Library, the Prudence Island Artist Residency, and everyone at NBNERR.