Museums & Galleries in Groton

Save the Bay started in 1970 to combat the raw sewage and industrial toxins that littered Narragansett Bay. Since that time, Save the Bay’s staff and volunteers have steadfastly revived the bay and its surrounding ecology by using a sustainable-ecosystem approach. The heart of their operation is the 15,000-square-foot Save the Bay Center. Its stormwater management system contains a vegetated roof, a coastal-buffer zone, swales, and basins that can absorb and filter 164,826 gallons of rain water. Made from recycled steel and metal, the center’s interior hosts an array of educational programs for adults and kids. The center also features an aquarium, camps, and marine-life tours aboard its 45-foot U.S. Coast Guard-certified vessel Alletta Morris or its 27-foot vessel Swift.

The splendor of the Gilded Age emanates from Vernon Court, a turn-of-the-century French chateau–style mansion outfitted with marbled columns, a spiral staircase, and sunken gardens. But inside the building is another kind of treasure: the National Museum of American Illustration, which houses some of the country’s most revered illustrated works.

Hanging on the museum’s walls are original paintings and drawings from 145 renowned American illustrators, including Norman Rockwell and Maxfield Parrish, all created between 1895 and 1945. Maxfield Parrish was known best for his book illustrations, filled with a particular shade of intense cobalt that became known as Parrish Blue. His whimsical paintings feature fairytale characters, such as Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella, amid fantastic settings, such as lush gardens or neon-lit dance parties. Norman Rockwell’s iconic paintings, meanwhile, told stories of everyday life, some humorous and others heartwarming, appearing in the Saturday Evening Post and other magazines.