The focal point of the garden is a mixed-medium sculpture made by two triangular granite monoliths as a backdrop for an eighteenth century anchor recovered from Narragansett Bay. The anchor is a symbol of hope and the State of Rhode Island, whose flag and seal it graces.
Designed by Brown University art professor Richard Fishman, the stone sculpture was originally installed at an outdoor chapel on Providence’s Killingly Street in 1972 and was moved to Swan Point in 1976.
Burial plots in the garden are arranged in gentle arcs facing the sculpture. The variety of headstones and markers in the garden reflects both the diversity of Rhode Island’s population and the cemetery’s historically inclusive attitude.