The Frank's Island Light was an early lighthouse in Louisiana, marking the entrance channel to the Mississippi River from the delta.
Conceived of as a grand monument, it suffered from construction issues and was eventually abandoned as the channel it marked was supplanted by other routes.
Funds for a light to mark the entrance to the Mississippi from the delta were appropriated in 1803 in the amount of $25,000, and plans were drawn up by Benjamin Latrobe; he designed an elaborate structure consisting of a tall central tower surrounded by a round house and colonnade, but the War of 1812 prevented work from going forward.
[2] After the war, Henry S. B. Latrobe revised his father's plans, but even at the then princely sum of $55,000 there was no taker for the work.
It was the first of a number towers erected by Lewis, and at the time the tallest lighthouse on the gulf coast.