62 degrees today, back to 30 tomorrow. It is making interesting landscapes.
NEWPORT IN THE SNOW
Category: newport ri
ARCTIC MIST
Arctic Mist or frost fog is nature’s way of indicating just how cold it is. I haven’t seen it on Narragansett bay for more than 15 years.
SNOW DAY
The snow started around 3 pm yesterday here, It stopped at about 11 pm, given that I had plans for today I thought I would shovel and be done with it. There was not a breath of air and quite warm. No sooner did I finish than it snowed another two inches which I shoveled again this morning, at which point the wind had come up and the temperature was 20 degrees, with sun.
The forecast is for more snow at the end of the week.
FOOTBALL SUNDAY AND TOURO SYNAGOGUE
If you are the least bit interested in sports, you are watching television, unless of course you have tickets to the GAME. Who will play two weeks from now? We will know by tonight.
Today I visited the Touro Synagogue, I have not been for a very long time. The Synagogue has undergone significant restoration since then. Restoration is always a difficult path. It is so easy to make the restoration too new. The patina from years of use, has it’s own story to tell and can be easily lost in the process. Touro is no exception. Carpet covers the original floor; but it needs to be protected. It is unlikely I will ever see it again. Twenty some layers of paint covered the interior. It was stripped and a choice was made about the color it would be re-painted. The color that George Washington would have seen when he visited in 1790.
THE REDWOOD LIBRARY, THEN AND NOW
I have been a member of the Redwood Library since I was very young. Very little changed until now. Efforts in many directions are bringing the library into the 21st century. Most of all I have hopes that it will again become the friendly place I once knew.
PRODIGAL PAINTINGS
The Preservation Society of Newport County‘s mission statement is as follows:
Our Mission
MissionStatement
Great Houses connect people to a nation’s heritage and open windows to another age.
The Preservation Society of Newport County is a non-profit organization whose mission is to protect, preserve, and present an exceptional collection of house museums and landscapes in one of the most historically intact cities in America.
We hold in public trust the Newport Mansions which are an integral part of the living fabric of Newport, Rhode Island. These sites exemplify three centuries of the finest achievements in American architecture, decorative arts, and landscape design spanning the Colonial era to the Gilded Age.
Through our historic properties, educational programs, and related activities we engage the public in the story of America’s vibrant cultural heritage.
We seek to inspire and promote an appreciation of the value of preservation to enrich the lives of people everywhere.
To that end these two paintings have been returned to their rightful places. We forget so easily that in the fifties and sixties the houses now under the care of the Preservation Society were at risk. ( There were a number of great houses in Newport that were torn down) Since then the efforts to re-assemble the collections housed in these magnificent edifices is the work of Sisyphus.
FIREWORKS ON THE FOURTH OF JULY
It is impossible to imagine the fourth of july without thinking of fireworks. In 1970 sailing “Carina” back from Bermuda we arrived at Montauk in the morning of the fourth, sailing down Long Island Sound to Greenwich we had a show as there were fireworks on each side of the Sound the entire way down, as each city and town had their own display.
These are photos of the fireworks here in Newport last night.
DO YOU REMEMBER?
The past means different things to different people. A few of these photographs are 50 years old. Newport has changed.
LARRY ELLISON IN NEWPORT
Ben Ainslie’s much anticipated press conference this morning, expected to be about Big Ben sailing in the America’s Cup for Oracle. Meanwhile Larry Ellison through a lawyer has presented a proposal for the future of Beechwood
Beechwood could be restored to its past glory if renovations to the historic property are approved. Above, a loggia designed by Richard Morris Hunt that was lost to a storm, would be rebuilt.By Tom Shevlin
NEWPORT — When yachtsman and Oracle CEO Larry Ellison purchased the Astor’s Beechwood two years ago, speculation swirled as to the historic manse’s fate.
Would it become his summer home? A home port to use as he sailed the northeast? Or would it be a simple trophy home – a house built by a titan of American industry, once again in the hands of another?
It appears that we now have an answer.
Plans submitted to the city’s zoning department on Tuesday detail the project.
Once rennovations are complete, Ellison plans to re-open the property to the public as an art museum through the newly created Beechwood Art Museum.
According to Newport attorney Peter Regan, who is representing the applicant locally, the property is currently zoned as a museum and single family dwelling. And while its use as a museum will remain the same, significant changes are also planned.
While the building had most recently been used as a living history museum and special events center, Ellison’s Beechwood will house a special collection of artwork personally owned by Ellison on the first floor, and a private residence on the second floor.
Regan likened the project to that of the Frick Museum in Manhattan, where artwork will be set amidst a residential backdrop.
The museum will be operated by the Atlantic Arts Museum, a 501(c)4 non-profit that will lease the property from a private holding company, thereby keeping the property on the tax rolls.
According to Regan, once renovations are complete the museum will be open to the public “from day one” and the view from both Bellevue Avenue and the Cliff Walk will be preserved. Further, rather than competing with existing art institutions, Regan says he believes the property will enhance Newport’s reputation as an arts destination.
RIGHTING A WRONG
NEWPORT, R.I.—A barge that sank in Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay after the October snowstorm is back on the surface.
The U.S. Coast Guard says efforts are now under way to remove 3,900 gallons of diesel fuel that were on the barge when it sank Oct. 31 following the Nor’easter.
The 120-by-30-foot barge flipped upside down when it sank in more than 100 feet of water. Crews decided to right the vessel and bring it into shallower water before removing the fuel.
The barge was operated by a contractor hired to paint the Pell Bridge, which connects Newport to Jamestown.
The Coast Guard is working with a salvage company to raise the barge. Officials say the operation could end this week depending on the weather.
