Close your eyes and think of the word, “paradise.” What do you see? For many Rhode Islanders in the late 19th and early 20th century, they would picture Oakland Beach.
Oakland Beach is found in Warwick, Rhode Island, where one can still enjoy its sandy beaches to this day. Advertisements in the late 19th century declared Oakland Beach to be a haven of sorts, calling it, “The Eden of Narragansett Bay!” and, “The Modern Paradise.” But Oakland Beach was also an entertainment center, briefly with amusement park attractions.
Such attractions included a roller coaster and one ride known as the “Tumble Bug.” In fact, Oakland Beach is close to where Rocky Point, the better-known amusement park of Rhode Island (and the next stop on this tour), was in Warwick. The two were rivals until around 1930 when the amusement park portion of Oakland Beach shut down.
But even without rides, Oakland Beach remained a beach destination. A pamphlet for the 16th Annual Oakland Beach Festival in 1999 contained several ads for restaurants (mainly seafood), a marina, and condominiums along the coast. Amenities on the beach like the ones advertised helped make Oakland Beach a popular tourist locale. The Oakland Beach Hotel provided lodging for visitors until the early 1900s when it burned down.
Today, Oakland Beach is one of the most visited beaches in Rhode Island.
]]>Easton’s Beach is a beach of many names. You may also have heard it called First Beach or Newport Beach. But whatever its name is, the beach can be found on the strip of land on Easton’s Bay that connects the peninsula named Easton’s Point in Middletown with Newport, where the Breakers and Marble House stand.
Just like the ferry that runs from Providence to Newport today, steamboats going from Providence to Newport allowed access to Easton’s Beach (and such steamboats provided access to other beaches mentioned in this Rhode Tour).
And like the other beaches on this tour, Easton’s Beach had amusement park rides including a carousel that the 1938 hurricane wiped away. The current carousel at Easton’s Beach is from 1958. Newport as a coastal city was exceptionally vulnerable, and nearby areas experienced severe damage.
A 1920s real estate brochure shows us that Easton’s Beach was equipped with the amenities necessary for any beach town. Easton’s Beach was close to cottages, a park, the cliff walk, and nearby on Easton’s Point was a clambake club, which still exists to this day. Families could rent swimsuits and cabins when they came to visit, making Easton’s an easy trip in the summer. There was also a boardwalk at Easton’s. The quick steamboat trip mentioned above along with these amenities allowed Easton’s Beach to give families and individuals the perfect summer’s day experience with few inconveniences. Today, Easton’s Beach is still an iconic part of Newport. Visitors to Easton’s can ride the carousel, eat at food stands and restaurants, surf, and even visit an aquarium run by Save the Bay.
The location of Easton’s Beach within Newport is important to understand the history of the beach. Newport is best known for its luxurious Gilded Age mansions and the wealthy families who owned them, but it also was a coastal city people could visit for rest, relaxation, and entertainment. Families living in Newport were of notorious wealth, and class is quite apparent in the surrounding buildings and centers by Easton’s Beach, especially the exclusive clambake club or yacht club. Many of these still exist today. But despite the wealth all around Newport, much like at Watch Hill, Easton’s Beach was a public beach that was surprisingly accessible.
]]>“Flying Horses, Swings, Elevated Railroads, ‘Chutes,’ and other forms of attractions abound; there is a large hotel on the grounds, and the dining halls for shore dinners are the most extensive on the bay.” --Official Souvenir of the Exposition of the New England Association of Arts and Crafts
Crescent Park drew in a large crowd each summer, boasting of its “famous” clam bakes and novel amusement rides. The story of Crescent Park begins just before the turn of the century, with Rhode Island in the midst of an industrial upheaval. George Boyden bought land and later a hotel in the late 1880s, which became a beloved oceanfront park with amusement park rides and social events.
The lucrative rides at Crescent Park had names like the Spanish Fandango and the Russian Toboggan. But no other ride at Crescent Park is as well known as the 1895 Looff Carousel. Charles Looff’s (later owner of the park) carousel at Crescent Park had over 50 unique horses and is famed for its decorations and features. Charles Looff’s work also appears at Rocky Point with the Ferris wheel. During its peak, Crescent Park played host to different events such as concerts, regular clam bakes with all sorts of sides, ice skating, and the Exposition of the New England Association of Arts and Crafts. It truly was the, “Coney Island of the East.” This Exposition especially is a salient example of the industrialization happening around Crescent Park in the late 19th/ early 20th centuries. A 1902 souvenir booklet of the exhibition even acknowledged this explicitly, stating, “The aim of this souvenir is to present in a graphic form some of the Industrial Features of the State in the shape of accounts of particular businesses and industries, and at the same time to picture forth the beauties of the Sea and Shore on Narragansett Bay in the vicinity of the Exposition.” Just as the Exhibition combined industrial themes with seaside beauty, Crescent Park’s modern rides blended with its natural oceanside location to create a space for both amusement and relaxation.
Economic difficulties and hurricanes hit the park hard, and the park suffered up through the 20th century until eventually in 1979 Crescent Park had to close. While Crescent Park may no longer be a fully-fledged amusement park, it can still be visited. The area where the amusement park once stood is now a public park on the shore with a gazebo, waterfront area, a clam shack, a boat landing, and the Looff Carousel, still in operation. As of 1976, the National Register of Historic Sites and Places included the Looff Carousel. The carousel has undergone significant restoration this year (2018) at the New England Carousel Museum in Connecticut, and has returned home to Riverside. This Carousel serves as a reminder of Crescent Park’s great history: George Boyden, its backdrop of industrialization, and the restoration and carousel rides of today.
]]>Rocky Point Park is still on many Rhode Islanders’ minds. The park, shut down in 1995, was a beloved part of Rhode Island since the 1850s. Over the 19th and 20th centuries, the park grew to its final mammoth size, and continued to renovate and update its attractions. Not only did Rocky Point Park remain an important place to the Rhode Island community even after it closed, but many Rhode Islanders celebrate the park’s history through various blogs, books, and the well-known documentary on the park.
Rocky Point Park is in Warwick, Rhode Island, right on the shore. It started small, as a favorite day trip location in the mid 1800s of Captain William Winslow. Like many beaches, a hotel was built near the beach in order to sustain the influx of tourists. As years passed, Rocky Point began to grow into a large-scale amusement park. Its rides included various roller coasters and the Ferris wheel created by Charles Looff, the same man responsible for the carousel at Crescent Park. Steamships traveled to the shore to make it easy for people to visit Rocky Point.
Other attractions at the park included bowling, the dance hall, and shore dinners. Rocky Point was best known for its clambakes, and the park even served these clams to President Hayes when he came to visit in 1877.
The park ran into its own difficulties throughout the years. The hotel was rebuilt after it burned down in 1883, the 1938 hurricane did damage to many rides at Rocky Point, and the park had to close in 1995 due to its financial struggles. Many of the most well-known rides that were still in use in ‘95 were sold to other parks all around the world when Rocky Point closed.
Even though Rocky Point closed, it still is a very important part of Rhode Island heritage and many efforts have been made to memorialize and celebrate its past. The 2007 film, You Must Be This Tall: The Story of Rocky Point Park, made by a Rhode Island filmmaker David Bettencourt, tells the story of the park through interviews with former park employees, Rhode Islanders who favorited the park, and even Rhode Island politicians including the infamous Buddy Cianci, former Providence mayor. The small-scale documentary makes clear how beloved Rocky Point Park is, and the importance of collective memory in remembering the park. A quick Google search will show you the number of independent websites devoted to Rocky Point Park and fundraising initiatives to attempt to bring the park back.
While it seems unlikely that Rocky Point Park will be an amusement park again, in 2014 Rocky Point Park became a state park. Visitors today can see remains of the former amusement park, such as the arch, scattered signs, and some demolished ruins, and can enjoy the beautiful shore area for hikes.
]]>The year? 1938. The weather? The worst you’ve ever seen. The hurricane that hit Rhode Island shook the coast to its core, wreaking havoc on its beaches. Watch Hill was no exception.
Watch Hill in Westerly, RI, one of Rhode Island’s finest beaches, is best known for its fancy houses, quaint town area, and the occasional Taylor Swift sighting. But Watch Hill’s history begins much earlier than modern pop stardom. In 1845 the now-called Watch Hill Inn was built, and later in 1868 the hotel Ocean House followed. In 1867, the beach welcomed a carousel, and it still runs today. In fact, you can still take a ride on the carousel. A large number of homes were built around the beach to provide accommodations for tourists and residents. A beach guide published by railroad and passenger companies from around Rhode Island makes mention of, “great hotels and the ornate villas,” by Watch Hill, a clear sign of the beach’s popularity. Such hotels and villas exemplify the wealthy status associated with Watch Hill. While the beach had its fair share of day trippers, those who permanently resided at Watch Hill were known to be from wealthy families, and so the beach became known for its patrons’ statuses. Even on the drive around Westerly one can see the beautiful waterfront mansions of Watch Hill’s residents.
Watch Hill’s natural aspects helped make it the perfect summer locale. The same railroad company guide published on Watch Hill claimed that Watch Hill’s natural advantages were well known even in colonial times, stating that, “Even in those early days of Indian and colonial wars this locality had attained a fine reputation for healthfulness of situation, beauty of surroundings, and delightful natural attractions generally.” In addition to Watch Hill’s natural disposition, industrialization and modernization played their part on the coast. The famous carousel on the beach became powered by water as of 1897, a clear sign of the industrialization of Rhode Island throughout the late 19th century. But nature overpowered modern technology when disaster struck in 1938.
The hurricane hit the coast hard. The Watch Hill Inn, Ocean House, and the carousel both suffered extreme damage, but ultimately remained standing. The hurricane ruined several seats on the carousel, but since 1938 the carousel has gone through several restoration efforts and is visitable to this day. The Watch Hill Inn as well as the Ocean House lasted through the hurricane, and are now luxury hotels for Watch Hill’s visitors.
Today, Watch Hill beach is still regularly visited by locals and tourists alike. Popstar Taylor Swift’s lavish mansion sits alongside the coast, and diehard fans of Swift visit the beach, hopeful to spot the star. But celebrities aside, Watch Hill is a poignant example of continuity in Rhode Island history. From the early beginnings during colonial Rhode Island to its carousel and clambake days to its new ‘Taylor Swift era,’ Watch Hill remains a staple location in Rhode Island for summer relaxation.
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