Newport, Rhode Island

[Gusterfell]

I was going over my photography this afternoon, and thought I'd start a thread about my town, so here goes.

First, a little background. Newport was founded in 1639, and was one of the most important cities in colonial America. It was a major seaport, cultural and economic center, and an early capitol of Rhode Island. The Revolutionary War ruined the city's economy, sending it into a century-long decline. From the mid 1800s to the 1920s, it was reinvented as a resort town for New York's mega-rich, and families like the Vanderbilts, Astors, and Belmonts built dozens of "summer cottages" along the coast that rival the royal palaces of Europe. Today the city has a population of around 30,000, and has one of the nation's largest collections of surviving 17th, 18th, and 19th century architecture. It's economy is centered on tourism, and every summer thousands of visitors swarm the city to enjoy its history, as well as its beaches and many musical and cultural festivals. It is also an important center for the yachting world and is home to an important naval base.

But enough talk, on with the pics:

First, here are a couple views of the "skyline"

Looking across the downtown area. The Brick building with the clock is the Old Colony House (1744), former capitol building of RI.

On Thames Street, running along the harbor through the center of town. Today it is the city's main tourist strip of shops and restaurants.

A quieter stretch at the northern end of Thames St. Every building in this pic dates from the 1780s or earlier.

Signage along one of the piers off Thames St.

Washington Square, the heart of downtown.

Trinity Church (1726) overlooks Queen Anne Square and the harbor. Its spire is a dominant feature of the skyline, and is visible from all over the city. Famous people who have worshiped here include George Washington, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Queen Elizabeth II, and Desmond Tutu.

A scene on Spring Street, which parallels Thames through downtown, but is more residential.

Emmanuel Church (1902) on Spring St.

St. Mary's Church (1852), also on Spring Street, is most well known as the scene of John F. Kennedy's wedding to Jacqueline Bouvier in 1952. She was a native Newporter.

Just when the summer tourist season winds down, the autumn cruise ship season begins. This is a common sight in Newport Harbor from late August through early November. Here we see the Queen Elizabeth II in the foreground, and the Golden Princess in the background.

This high speed ferry makes several trips a day between Newport and Providence.

To be continued....

[Garris]

Wow, I love Newport. Great shots!! I need to get back there to take some more pictures.

Here's a shot of the same "skyline" I took last year:

Some other Newport photos I did are at my website at http://members.cox.net/garrisphotography/G...nd.html#Newport

I can't wait to see the others you took!

- Garris

Providence, RI

PS: Make sure to post this in the Rhode Island area too, as most of the people participating there don't frequent the Photos section...

[Gusterfell]

Now for some of those mansions I mentioned earlier Remember, these were referred to as "summer cottages" by their owners, and were only used for about ten weeks every year. Today many have been opened as museums or divided into condos. Salve Regina Universty's campus is mainly made up of converted mansions.

Vinland (1883) was built by the Lorillards, of the tobacco fortune. Today it is classrooms for SRU

Ochre Court (1891) was built by Ogden Goelet. Today it is SRU's administration building and chapel

William Watts Sherman House (1876). It is now used as a dormitory by SRU

Seaview Terrace (1929) was the last of the great mansions to be built. It is also a dormitory for SRU today.

The Breakers (1895), built by Cornelius Vanderbilt II, is the largest and grandest of the Newport mansions. Despite that and the fact that I work there, I just realised that I've never taken a pic of the entire house. I'll have to remedy that soon. It's a museum today.

The Elms (1901) was built by Edward J. Berwind. Also a museum today.

St. George's School(1923-28), a ritzy prep school on the outskirts of town, is one of my favorite buildings in the area, and one of my most-photographed. It looks like it's straight out of the English countryside.

Thanks for looking, and I hope you enjoyed my little tour.

[Garris]

Gusterfell, those last two shots are simply amazing. They should be used in textbooks to teach landscape photography: foreground, middleground, background.

Perfect.

- Garris

Providence, RI

[Gusterfell]

Thanks!

[Mith242]

Great pics Gusterfell. Thanks for the info as well. I always like to have a little info along with the pics.

[Lone Ranger]

I love St George's. And what a campus, too. Worthy of the Ivy League.

Trinity Church is a favorite of mine also. Something about it doesn't "connect" well through photographs, but in person it's breathtaking IMO, especially at night. I have yet to see a nighttime photograph of Trinity that does it any justice. The lighting is too delicate for that, I think.

[Garris]

Something about [Trinity Church] doesn't "connect" well through photographs, but in person it's breathtaking IMO, especially at night.

I agree. When I was in Newport, I tried to take several photographs of it and was unhappy with them all. It's surrounding greenery, while impressive in person, is partially to blame, as there is little else to compare/contrast the building to in a photograph and very little to put it in the urban context that in real life makes it so impressive.

Alexander Nesbitt, whose studio is based in Newport, I believe, has excellent photos here:

http://www.nesbittphoto.com/newport/trinity/index.htm

I have yet to see a nighttime photograph of Trinity that does it any justice. The lighting is too delicate for that, I think.

Ah, a challenge...

- Garris

[ZachariahDaMan]

Incredible pictures! What a beautiful town!

[sunshine]

isnt this where Peter Griffin's father in law live?

[Southernyank]

A quieter stretch at the northern end of Thames St. Every building in this pic dates from the 1780s or earlier.

So many churches. Theres even a babtist street

[ruchele]

So many churches. Theres even a babtist street

That's just one of them: There's a North Baptist St. a South Baptist St., on opposite ends of town. South Baptist St. is right next to Pope St.

By the way, you can just see the corner of the house I grew up in in that pic (that smear of blue above the white van is chez Mom and Dad).

[Gusterfell]

By the way, you can just see the corner of the house I grew up in in that pic (that smear of blue above the white van is chez Mom and Dad).

Cool! I would love to live in one of these houses. Is it a Newport Restoration Foundation house?

isnt this where Peter Griffin's father in law live?

Yep. I love when Lois's parents are on the show.

[ruchele]

Is it a Newport Restoration Foundation house?

Hell no. It's a federal/greek revival type number- about 1840. I think the NRF houses are all 18th century, and as far as I know, they are all rentals. I have heard there's a long wating list to rent them. I guess people find the Georgian Colonials romantic, but yikes, talk about claustrophobic.

Actually, I don't know if any of those houses in the picture are NRF houses. Maybe one of them is. I think the plaques you see on the houses in this picture are probably from Operation Clapboard.

[Lone Ranger]

I agree. When I was in Newport, I tried to take several photographs of it and was unhappy with them all.

I know, I saw your Newport pics.

Ah, a challenge...

If anybody can capture it, you can.

Edit: so I took a look at Nesbitt's photos. Still not right. Not that you need my advice, but it seems to me that everybody makes the same mistakes on this building.

Scale is important. All the pictures I've seen somehow manage to make it look small. In its context, it's not. It's the dominant building in the heart of town, not only because of its height but also (and more importantly) because of its location a) on a hill and b) above a park, which leaves a lot of wide-open green space in front of it.

And then also, clarity seems to be a problem. Any fuzziness in the photos just kills the effect. It's the details, in this case, that make the difference.

I'll use the word I used before, delicate. It's a delicate building. It looms large in its setting, but it is at the same time a very delicate building. Truly etherial, if you see what I mean.

You got this one right:

So like I said, if anybody can do it, you're the man.

[PAboyBJR70]

"Seaview Terrace (1929) was the last of the great mansions to be built. It is also a dormitory for SRU today."

Seaview Terrace became famous when it was used as the setting for the cursed Collins' family house on the original version of the popular cult classic horror soap Dark Shadows (ABC, 1966-1971)

The mansion was originally built south of Dupont Circle and moved piece by piece to Newport where it was expanded to 65 rooms upon completion.

Here's a screen cap of the open:

And a close up of the Tower with one of the actresses from the series, Nancy Barrett:

[CtownMikey]

Dont forget the International Tennis Hall of Fame is in Newport too!

http://www.tennisfame.com/

[Gusterfell]

Dont forget the International Tennis Hall of Fame is in Newport too!

http://www.tennisfame.com/

Yep. It's well worth a visit. The building is an early masterpiece by the architectural firm of McKim, Mead, and White, built 1879-81. It is grouped with three other 19th century commercial buildings on what is one of my favorite blocks in the city. For some reason, though, I find it a rather difficult streetscape to photograph. Here is the best I've come up with so far:

The Tennis Hall of Fame is in the light-colored shingled building, second on the block.

And, for PAboy, here are a couple more of Seaview Terrace:

[webbage]

Sorry to bump this one up, but the cruise ship image isn't displaying for me. Is anyone else seeing it?

Thanks!

[DigitalSky]

Wow wonderful pics! Having been to Newport a few years ago, it is an awesome town

[Gusterfell]

Sorry to bump this one up, but the cruise ship image isn't displaying for me. Is anyone else seeing it?

Thanks!

It's not showing anymore for me either. Strange that just one of the pics would disappear.

For some reason, I can't edit the opening posts (is there a time limit in how late you can edit?), so here's the pic again:

[webbage]

It's not showing anymore for me either. Strange that just one of the pics would disappear.

For some reason, I can't edit the opening posts (is there a time limit in how late you can edit?), so here's the pic again:

Thanks a lot!