Rhode Island Travel Guide
Once reserved as the resort for the rich, Rhode Island, smallest
of the US states, is today a favourite east coast getaway,
particularly for Bostonians and New Yorkers, being only 60 miles
(97km) and 180 miles (290km) respectively from those major cities.
The extravagant 19th-century mansions of America's wealthy families
that grace Newport, Rhode Island's southern city on the Atlantic
Ocean, are now relics of a golden age that serve as tourist
attractions to be marvelled at by visitors. It is easy to
understand why Rhode Island became a popular Mecca for the idle
rich in days gone by when one considers the state has more than 400
miles (644km) of convoluted shoreline jutting into the Atlantic
Ocean and Narragansett Bay, allowing for more than 100 beaches.
This little State offers more than just water, however& more
than 60 percent of its total area is covered in woodland, carefully
preserved in 53 state parks and management areas, making it a
perfect place to indulge in camping, hiking and cycling. The state
capital is the city of Providence, lying at the northern point of
narrow Narragansett Bay about 30 miles (48km) from the open ocean.
Both Providence and the southerly city of Newport have a
fascinating colonial history well worth investigating via the local
attractions, while the little resort island of Block, about an hour
by ferry from the southern town of Point Judith, is an unspoilt and
well-preserved paradise for beachcombing and bird watching. Rhode
Island is not strictly an island as such, being rather a portion of
coastline that has been jaggedly cleaved in two, bisected by
Narragansett Bay, leaving an irregular coastline. The name is a
legacy of the early Puritan settlers who thought their new homeland
resembled the island of Rhodes in the Aegean. During the colonial
period Newport prospered as an important port with ships trading in
slaves, molasses and rum filling the harbour. After the Civil War
the trading post began to turn into a resort as new-made
millionaires discovered the beautiful beaches and gentle climate
around the city and began to build their summer palaces.
Rhode Island Travel Guide
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Rhode Island Travel Guide
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Description:
Rhode Island's magnificent white marble Georgian state house was
inspired by London's St Paul's Cathedral and the US Capitol. It has
the distinction of sporting one of only four self-supporting domes
in the world, the others being St Peter's Basilica, the Taj Mahal,
and the Minnesota State Capitol. The beautiful building in Smith
Street houses the original Rhode Island Charter of 1663 and an
historic portrait of George Washington painted by Gilbert Stuart, a
Rhode Island native. The Washington portrait is renowned for being
the one used on the American dollar bill.
Address:
82 Smith Street
Postcode:
Telephone:
(401) 222 3983, or 222 2357
Email:
Website:
sos.ri.gov/publicinfo/tours/
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Description:
The three-storey mansion on Power Street, designed by Joseph
Brown for his brother John, in 1786, was once described by John
Quincy Adams as 'the most magnificent and elegant private mansion
that I have ever seen on this continent'. Indeed the formal
Georgian style mansion is breathtaking, with its elaborate
woodwork, French wallpaper and 18th-century locally made
furnishings. The house also features silver and decorative oriental
objects d'art, gathered by John Brown who made his fortune trading
with China, as well as the slave trade.
Address:
52 Power Street, Providence
Postcode:
Telephone:
(401) 273 7507
Email:
Website:
www.rihs.org/museums_jbh.html
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Description:
Providence's renovated downtown waterfront is known as
Waterplace Park, a haven of romantic Venetian footbridges and
cobblestone walkways that has won national and international design
awards. The river walk was the centre of the shipping trade in the
city's early years, sited at the junction of three rivers. Today it
draws enthusiastic crowds to the popular Waterfire events, held
several times a year. This multimedia festival involves nearly 100
blazing braziers that rise from the river, seemingly to dance atop
the water to the tune of rhythmic music. Waterfire events are not
held to schedule and visitors can find out from the visitor
information centre in the clock tower (open daily from 10am to 4pm)
when the next is to be held, or consult the Waterfire website
www.waterfire.orgFree
concerts and plays are also frequently held in the Waterplace
Amphitheatre.
Address:
Postcode:
Telephone:
(401) 272 3111
Email:
Website:
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Description:
The small but comprehensive museum attached to the Rhode Island
design college features many changing exhibitions, particularly
relating to textiles. The museum's permanent collection includes
the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller collection of Japanese prints, Chinese
terracotta, Greek statuary and some French Impressionist paintings.
Highlights are works by masters such as Monet, Cézanne, Rodin and
Picasso. There is also an American section containing paintings by
Gilbert Stuart, John Singleton Copley and John Singer Sargent.
Address:
224 Benefit Street
Postcode:
Telephone:
(401) 454 6500
Email:
Website:
www.risdmuseum.org
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Description:
Providence's zoo is situated in a beautiful 174-hectare
(430-acre) Victorian park accessed from Elmwood Avenue on the south
edge of the city. The Roger Williams Park also contains two other
popular attractions, a museum of natural history and a planetarium,
as well as offering a relaxing spot to picnic, feed the ducks, ride
a pony or rent a paddleboat. The zoo is home to more than 900
animals from 156 different species, with display areas divided into
different habitats, including Tropical America, the Plains of
Africa and Australasia. Special features are a walk-through aviary
and underwater viewing areas for polar bears and seals.
Address:
1000 Elmwood Avenue
Postcode:
Telephone:
(401) 785 3510
Email:
Website:
www.rogerwilliamsparkzoo.org
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Description:
One of America's most famous walks is down Providence's Benefit
Street, lined with an impressive concentration of original Colonial
homes. The 'mile of history' takes in all the well-restored
buildings that were home to merchants and sea captains. The street,
overlooking the city's waterfront, also features churches and
museums. The area is cared for by the Providence Preservation
Society, which provides information about the buildings and
escorted tours from their office at 21 Meeting Street.
Address:
Postcode:
Telephone:
Providence Preservation Society: (401) 831
7440
Email:
Website:
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Description:
The Bellevue Avenue Historical District in Newport, Rhode
Island, is home to some of the grandest, most ostentatious mansions
in the American architectural canon. Eleven in total, including
Kingscote, Marble House and The Breakers, these enormous residences
are important milestones in tracing the development of America's
social history (seven of the properties are now National Historic
Landmarks). Ranging in style and period - from Carpenter Gothic to
Colonial, Victorian and Gilded Age - visitors to Rhode Island have
the Preservation Society of Newport County to thank for their
tireless work in preserving and protecting these cultural
treasures. The Society runs expert guided tours of the mansions,
during which visitors are educated about each property's
architecture, interior, landscape and social history. Consistently
voted as one of the Ocean State's 'must-see' attractions, visitors
to Newport should not pass up the opportunity to experience these
majestic mansions first-hand.
Address:
Bellevue Avenue Historic District, Newport
Postcode:
Telephone:
Visitor Centre: (401) 847-1000
Email:
Website:
www.newportmansions.org
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Description:
Tennis fans are inspired by Newport's Tennis Hall of Fame
Museum, but even those who do not follow the game will enjoy
visiting this historic sporting venue, which was a premier
gathering place of Newport society at the turn of the 20th century.
The building, built around a large interior piazza for lawn games,
is festooned with turrets and verandas and was commissioned by
wealthy publisher James Gordon Bennett as a private social and
sports club that became known as the Newport Casino. Professional
tennis tournaments are now hosted at the venue, and the courts are
open to the public for play by reservation. The Hall of Fame museum
presents an exciting chronology of the sport's history, from its
origins to today's superstars. The collection contains more than
7,000 objects, including historic tennis equipment, period clothing
and a tennis library.
Address:
194 Bellevue Avenue
Postcode:
Telephone:
(401) 849 3990
Email:
Website:
www.tennisfame.com
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Description:
The oldest Synagogue still standing in the United States, the
Touro Street building, was designed by Peter Harrison and dedicated
in 1763. The synagogue has, in its time, been used as a venue for
town meetings and for sessions of the state supreme court. George
Washington, who visited Newport in 1781, attended a meeting in the
synagogue and afterwards sent a letter to the congregation, which
has become regarded as a classical expression of religious liberty
in America - a copy of the letter is displayed on the wall of the
synagogue, which has been designated as a National Historical
Site.
Address:
85 Touro Street
Postcode:
Telephone:
(401) 847 4794
Email:
info@tourosynagogue.org
Website:
www.tourosynagogue.org
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Description:
Visitors interested in history will find the Museum of Newport
History an excellent place to begin a sojourn in the city. The
museum offers a comprehensive overview utilising the decorative
arts, artefacts of everyday life, graphics, old photographs and
audio-visual programmes to bring the past to life. The museum is
maintained by the Newport Historical Society and is housed in a
restored 1772 building in Thames Street (off Touro Street).
Highlights are an interactive computer tour of Newport's historic
district and a video tour of historic Bellevue Avenue presented on
board a reproduction 1890s omnibus.
Address:
127 Thames Street
Postcode:
Telephone:
(401) 841 8770
Email:
Website:
www.newporthistorical.org
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Description:
Proud of its heritage as a sailing Mecca, Newport is equally
proud of its museum dedicated to the sport, which has been
acclaimed as one of the top sailor's museums in the nation. The
Museum boasts a variety of artefacts and exhibits such as a vast
collection of classic power and sail yachts, a gallery devoted to
chronicling the America's Cup competition held in Newport between
1851 and 2000; a single-handed sailor's hall of fame; and a glimpse
into the sailing lifestyle of the Bellevue Avenue Mansions 'gilded
age' brigade.
Address:
45 Washington Square, Fort Adams State Park,
Newport
Postcode:
Telephone:
(401) 847 1018
Email:
museum@moy.org
Website:
www.moy.org
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Description:
Barely 12 miles (19km) from the shore of modern east coast
America lies a tiny 'treasure island' virtually unspoiled by
progress, where the main past time offered to visitors is peaceful
pleasure and kicked-back relaxation. Time seems to have stopped on
Block Island in the Victorian era, particularly in its main, and
only, urban concentration, known as Old Harbor, where ferries from
Rhode Island arrive several times a day. The island abounds with
quaint architecture, spectacular views and delicious native
seafood. Charming inns, beautiful beaches and bike trails is the
entire tourist infrastructure required to lure holidaymakers here
in droves every summer to spend long indolent days splashing and
sunning themselves. Winter brings some savage storms and life is
fairly tough for the 800-odd permanent residents who depend not
only on each other, but also annually warmly welcome the summer
visitors, for their survival. Block island, named for a Dutch
navigator who found it in 1614, is only seven miles (11km) long and
three miles (5km) wide, but boasts a unique array of flora and
fauna, a varied terrain of hills and freshwater ponds, and the
spectacular southern Mohegan Bluffs that rise 200ft (61m) above the
sea.
Address:
Postcode:
Telephone:
(800) 383 2474
Email:
info@blockislandinfo.com
Website:
www.blockislandinfo.com
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Description:
Established in 1998, the National Museum of American
Illustration is the nation's only museum devoted exclusively to
American illustration artwork. Housed in the beautiful mansion of
Vernon Court - whose Gilded Age architectural style is coetaneous
with the 'Golden Age of American Illustration' - the museum's
American Imagist collection exhibits works by Norman Rockwell,
James Montgomery Flagg and Maxfield Parrish (among many, many
others). The impact of these illustrators on subsequent American
artists cannot be underestimated. Working in the days before
television, their art - circulated in all major print publications
- was not only the primary medium through which members of the
American public were exposed to images beyond the ken of their
everyday lives, it also created a host of iconic characters (such
as Uncle Sam), that have formed an integral part of the American
aesthetic ever since. Don't miss out on this opportunity to
appreciate some of the art that was essential to the birth of
modern American culture as we know it.
Address:
492 Bellevue Avenue, Newport
Postcode:
Telephone:
(401) 851-8949
Email:
Website:
www.americanillustration.org
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