digging in newport’s queen anne square: providing context for ongoing renovation efforts

7/23/2019 Digging in Newports Queen Anne Square: Providing Context for Ongoing Renovation Efforts

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ROGER WILLIAMS UNIVERSITY

Digging in Newports

Queen Anne SquareProviding Context for Ongoing Renovation EffortsJonathan Hopkins

12/10/2012

Final Term Paper

AAH 530/560: Newport Seminar

Sara Butler, Associate Professor of Art and Architectural History

RWU SAAHP Fall 2012


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Final Term Paper Digging in Newports Queen Anne Square Jonathan Hopkins

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Introduction

The result of exhaustive efforts by Doris Duke (Fig.1), a preservationist of Colonialbuildings in

mid-20th Century Newport, Queen Anne Square (Fig.2) was opened in the mid-1970s as a public park of

precisely placed plantings and open space at the foot of the Citys historic Trinity Church (built 1725-

26).1Located on Thames Street in downtown Newport, the 1.2 acre park has changed considerably from

its original design. Through the efforts of the Newport Restoration Foundation, the preservation

organization Doris Duke founded in 1968, a renovation of the park has been initiated with a

controversial design by world-renowned artist Maya Lin (Fig. 3) as the focus of the project. Change,

however, is not new to Queen Anne Square - in fact, change has been, in many ways, the only

substantially consistent characteristic of the park over the sites history. In order to get a better

understanding of the contemporary renovation efforts for the park, an exploration of the role that the

area now known as Queen Anne Square has played in Newports history from the colonial settlement

right up tothe present is required. For this, the use of historic maps, atlases, period photographs and

other historic resources will be vital for determining a context for evaluating Lins design. Furthermore, a

discussion of the process for implementing this project in relation to Doris Dukes intentions for the park

is required to get a fuller context.

Historic Development of Queen Anne Square

The area now known as Queen Anne Square is located roughly 300 yards south of Newports

Washington Square the psychological and geographic center of the City.2 Settled in 1639, Newport

1In the end, [Doris Duke] assumed complete control of the project planning, construction, aesthetic decisions,

and, most importantly, financial responsibility.

History. The Meeting Room: An Installation by Maya Lin (Doris Duke Monument Foundation)

http://www.ddmf.org/about/historyaccessed 12/6/122

[The Brick Market] and the Colony House reflect the commercial and civic activity that made Washington Square

the heart of colonial Newport.

William Gerald McLoughlin. Rhode Island: A History (W. W. Norton & Company, Inc. 1986) p. vii
http://www.ddmf.org/about/historyhttp://www.ddmf.org/about/historyhttp://www.ddmf.org/about/history


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began as a colonial village, but eventually became the metropolis of the Colony of Rhode Island and

Providence Plantations.3 Protected inside of Brenton Cove, this area was an ideal location for ports and

wharves, which were vital to Newports early maritime economy (Fig.4).4 With Newport at the forefront,

the mid-18th century was New Englands great maritime era5 a period marked by prosperity and urban

development.6 Thames Street was Newports main commercial thoroughfare running north-south along

the harbor. The blocks of Thames Street are short in order to maximize access to the water through side

streets that extend eastward - perpendicular to the shore (Fig. 5). At the peak of its mercantile

enterprise Newport was occupied by the British during the Revolution an event that decimated the

citys economy, population and future prospects.7 Adding insult to injury, upon the withdrawal of the

British in the late 1770s, block after block of Newports urban fabric were burned to the ground. With

the exception of Trinity Church, all other buildings on the site of Queen Anne Square bounded by

Church, Spring, Mill and Thames Streets were either burned by the British or later demolished in the

1780s by the city due to abandonment.8 What had been a bustling commercial and residential district in

the heart of Newports urban fabric was reduced to rubble.9 Hope, however, was restored for the citys

future by a new economy emerging out of the new nation.

3C.P.B. Jefferys. Newport: A Concise History (Newport Historical Society, 2008) p. 15

4Thanks to an ideal climate and a magnificent, accessible harbor, the young village grew into affluent maturity.

Ibid.5

1750-1835 [] as New England entered its great maritime era []

Elizabeth Mills Brown. New Haven A Guide to Architecture and Urban Design (Yale University Press, 1976) p. 16

Maritime activity provided a solid economic base for the citys growth and development. By the mid-eighteenth

century, Newport flourished as one of the most prosperous ports in the colonies and the economic center of

Rhode Island.

McLoughlin. Rhode Island p. xi7

At the West end of Washington Square at the head of the Long Wharf stands the Brick Market, a market house

constructed in 1726 at the peak of Newports commercial development.

McLoughlin. Rhode Island p. vii8

Being Anglican, however, Trinity Church, was sparred []

Jefferys. Newport p. 399

The area has always been a dense urban place even as early as the mid-18th

century.

History The Meeting Room


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Newports relatively mild climate and strategic location on the water between major

metropolitan areas made it a desirable place to vacation for wealthy families from New York, Boston

and the American South in the early 19th century. Summer cottages and hotels increasingly developed in

the city to accommodate visitors creating a demand for services and commerce, which helped to

rejuvenate Newports economy in the wake of its role as a major colonial port being greatly diminished

in the aftermath of British occupation.10 As a result of this new infusion of investment, the city was able

to begin the process of rebuilding itself. By 1870, the blocks around Trinity Church had developed more

densely then they had been prior to the revolution sporting a mixture of residences, businesses, shops

and even a public school building (Fig. 6). However, the outbreak of the Civil War temporarily hampered

the growth of the city since a large portion of Newports visitors were Southern families that made their

money through slavery. Fortunately for Newport, capital investment in industrial manufacturing,

railroads, and speculative real estate development brought a previously unimaginable amount of wealth

to the small New England town during its Gilded Age.

Still centrally located in the city during the late 19th century, the area now known as Queen Anne

Square was an ideal site for commercial stores, affordable housing for workers and small shops along

Thames Street, which continued to function as the primary network for commerce in the city (Figs. 7, 8,

9&10). Some Thames Street businesses included a hat store, two grocers, and an ice cream and candy

shop, among others, which were oftenlocated in 2-3 story wood frame buildings with tenements in the

floors above the shops. The side streets of Church and Mill provided desirable lots for the substantial

homes of investors in Newports economy with Frank Street largely acting as a service way giving access

to barns, stables and back buildings for the houses on adjacent blocks. George Nason who lived in a two

10The antebellum period witnessed the return and rapid expansion of the summer resort industry that had been

so successful in the eighteenth century. Visitors in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries stated in rooms

of houses rented for the season. During the late 1820s and 1830s, this pattern began to change. Hotels were built

and real-estate speculators bought large tracts of land []

Jeffreys. P. 44


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and a half story wood frame dwelling at 26 Mill Street in 1893, for instance, also owned 32 Mill Street,

which was a 2-story furniture repair shop, in addition to a small carpenters shop located on neighboring

Frank Street in the rear of his residential property (Fig. 11). As Newport continued to densely develop in

the center through the turn of the 20th century (Figs.12, 13, undeveloped land to the east became more

and more desirable for upper class residences leaving already developed property west of Bellevue

Avenue for newly arriving workers and more intensive industry.

By the mid-20th century, the area now known as Queen Anne Square had clearly undergone a

transformation from its mixed-use, mixed-income character to a commercial and industrial district (Fig.

14).11

The George Nason house at 26 Mill Street had been, by 1950, converted into a rooming house and

his rear buildings had been replaced, along with others, by Egans Laundry business (Fig. 15). Spring

Street between Church and Frank was preserved through the Trinity Church building and its adjacent

cemetery,12 but the block between Frank and Mill changed dramatically in the 1950s with the

demolition of the old brick Coddington School building and the replacement of a row of mixed use

buildings with a filling station (Figs. 16&17). The 1960s sawsweeping changes in Newport as federal

funding for urban renewal provided a new tool for cities to use in redeveloping areas like the blocks

surrounding Trinity Church that had changed in character as a result of industry, demographic shifts and

suburbanization (Fig. 18).

While Newport emerged from the large scale planning projects of the 60s and early 70s

relatively intact, one major change in the city was the creation of Americas Cup Boulevard, which

replaced businesses on the west side of Thames Street north of the extended Memorial Boulevard with

11By the early 1970s, the area now known as Queen Anne Square was a downtown urban space filled with a wide

variety of buildings which were mostly commercial, and many of which were of little note.

Ibid.12

Within the boundaries of the block lay historic Trinity Church, almost completely hidden by the surrounding

commercial development.

Ibid.


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a multi-lane, high speed roadway that effectively cuts the city off from the waterfront (Fig. 19). 1973

proved to be a turning point for Queen Anne Square with the burning down of the Walsh Brothers

Furniture Store a substantial 3-story commercial block at the corner of Frank and Thames Street (Figs.

20, 21&22). The Redevelopment Agency in the City of Newport saw the large vacant lot on Thames

Streets resulting from the fire and the other abandoned properties as an opportunity for the areas

future use as residences, parking and a small park.13

Designed and constructed between 1974 and 1978, Queen Anne Square was heavily influenced

by Doris Duke Newports premiere colonial preservationist.14 According to the Doris Duke Monument

Foundation website, Duke was brought into the project mostly at the urging of Trinity Church with

support from other quarters.15 At the time, Duke was an active member of Trinity Church. Duke

envisioned Queen Anne Square as a park surrounded by 18th century buildings.16 In order to achieve

this,

The Redevelopment Agency facilitated negotiating title to all the property in the area bounded

by Mill, Thames, and Church Streets up to the existing church property. Land was also acquired

on the north side of Church Street, as was a lot on the south side of Mill Street. Five 18th

and

early 19th

century buildings were moved to lots adjoining the park. Trinity Church also built a newmultipurpose building designed to blend with the period buildings in the area. Doris Duke was on

site of the time as the park took shape. Trees of all sizes came in by the flat-bed truck loads, and

she directed the placement of each one. According to back-hoe operators at the job, they would

be held to near dark, changing tree locations and orientation two and three times. Boulders were

craned into place, and if something about them did not meet her standards, they were taken

away.17

13Some of these structures were largely abandoned.

History The Meeting Room14

Between 1974 and completion of the project in 1978, the NRF design staff, heavily influenced by Miss Duke,

created the final plan for the square.

History The Meeting Room15

Ibid.16

Ibid.17

Ibid.


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The result of these efforts was the creation of a new public green space on the site of a declining

commercial area in the center of Newport (Fig. 23).18One notable characteristic of this project is that it

effectively created a village green for a religious institution, which is in opposition to Rhode Islands

founding and guiding principle of religious tolerance and a separation between public life and religious

institutions.19Originally, the park functioned as a landscape of precisely placed plantings and trees, but

by the mid-1980s, a new system of paved paths reflected the circulation needs of visitors and passersby

(Figs. 24&25). However, despite these changes the park has not seen the active use and maintenance

envisioned by its creators.20Therefore, in celebration of what would be Doris Dukes 100th birthday, the

Newport Restoration Foundation has commissioned Maya Lin to renovate and redesign the park.

Evaluating the Design

Maya Lin - best knownfor her competition-winning design for the Washington, D.C. Vietnam

Veterans Memorial when she was only 21 years old21 was, according to the Newport Restoration

Foundation, chosen for her skill in creating artistic and architectural installations sensitive to the

18By the 70s, it was only minimally used compared with its long history of commercial vitality in the heart of the

city.

Ibid.19

Prior to Queen Anne Square, the only Town in Rhode Island that contained religious institution on the public

green was Bristol, which was originally was part of Massachusetts.

In line with Williams ideas on religious liberty, his colony of Rhode Island became a sanctuary for religious

dissenters, both Christians and Jews. Williams eventually obtained a charter for the Rhode Island colony from King

Charles II of England. This fundamental law of 1663 provided for separation of religion and government and

freedom of conscience. It was the most extensive guarantee of religious liberty for individuals that had been

achieved anywhere in the world of the seventeenth century.

John J. Patrick and Gerald P. Long, eds. Constitutional Debates on Freedom of Religion (Greenwood Publishing

Group, 1999) p. 320

[] a less than beloved park (the current site has been littered upon and neglected.

Kelly Chan. Maya Lins Proposal for Commemorative Park Sparks ControversyArchitizer News (November 22,

2011)21

Though a sculptor by training, Lin is widely recognized for winning the public design competition for the

Vietnam Veterans Memorial, beating out well over a thousand entries. At a mere 21 years in age and still finishing

her undergraduate degree at Yale University, the young artists was stunned when her simple yet highly contextual

black granite design was chosen for construction, tapped to join the ranks of Americas iconic monuments.

Ibid.


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context of the site.22Queen Anne Square seems the natural place to honor Doris Dukes preservation

efforts in Newport since it represents one of [her] most significant public works [...]23The redesign for

Queen Anne Square dubbed The Meeting Room has a dual purpose [] to honor the memory of

Doris Duke [] and as a tribute to the effect of historic preservation as a catalyst for community

revitalization.24To achieve this, the design focuses on reassembling stone foundations that form

outdoor rooms representing the scale of and type of materials used in Newports historic houses (Fig.

26).25 Lins interest lies in the communicating the sites history through this new art installation. As Lin

states,

I am excited and honored to be creating a work at the center of historic Newport. My interest intime, memory and history originally drew me to learn about the rich history of this area and

discover the structures that once existed at this site. To be able to create a landscape that

reveals the historic aspect of Queen Anne Square in which these physical structure, some of

which have stood here for 300 years, hold the history of the people who lived and worked there

through time, is an important aspect to me and the project. The design is about sharing these

spaces with the public. The foundations are created from reclaimed stones that were once part

of historic homes. In doing so, we are building foundations that represent home, family and

community through history. I image it to be a place where people gather together and also can

reflect upon how Doris Duke helped preserve so many of these significant houses.26

In addition to new stone foundations, the design incorporates a new system of walking paths, and new

tree plantings selected specifically for the site (Fig. 27).27 It is important to determine if the stated intent

of the design is, in fact, an appropriate honor for Doris Duke and if the new installation relates

adequately to the history of the site.

Significant changes to Dukes design were already made in the 1980s with the creation of a

paved path system in what had previously been entirely a green space (Fig. 28). Dukes precisely placed

22About. The Meeting Room23

Ibid.24

Ibid.25

Ibid.26

Ibid.27

New tree plantings were chosen based on native species that historically grew in Newport. The height of trees

is designed to allow a view across the park, and crucially, of historic Trinity Church, a city landmark which sits at

the top of the park.

Ibid.


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tree plantings, however, do remain to this day. Lins redesign calls for the removal of nine mature trees

on the site, and a reworking of the network of paths from linear to curvilinear (Fig. 29). Maintaining the

view lines to Trinity Church and winding paths definitely align with Dukes desire to highlight the

Newport landmark and create an organized landscape that is functional for the public. The removal of

trees, however, certainly seems a peculiar homage to Duke considering the immense thought that was

put into their original placement.28 Furthermore, while the idea of foundations suggests the history of

the site, the creation of Queen Anne Square was meant to remove the history of the site and create a

new space in the city that related to Trinity Church and the 18th Century colonial housing of the city. The

shallow stone foundations are placed where colonial residences once stood, which in a way does also tie

into Dukes intent for the site, although not in the way she originally envisioned it. As an honor to Doris

Duke, the new design succeeds in its relation to 18th century colonial houses, its maintenance of most of

the existing trees, and its curvilinear paths, but it falls short in the removal of trees, and the semi-

inhabitable new construction within the green space of the park.

Like the homage to Duke, the designs intent of connecting to the sites history is only

occasionally successful. The stone foundations are meant to identify the location, scale and material of

foundations of 18th century colonial residences. This area as a site for residences and 18th century

buildings is only a small part of the history. By the mid-18th century, Newport was at the height of its

colonial maritime commercial development with Thames Street at its heart and the blocks of Church,

Frank and Mill fully integrated into the dense, built up urban fabric of the city. The new design

completely ignores this side of the 18th century history. Furthermore, the site was largely rebuilt in the

19th century with the addition of small shops, a large public school building, a mix of housing and even a

28Anne Joslin was a tour guide at Dukes mansion for a decade. She says [] [Doris Duke] created Queen Anne

Square as an artistic rendition of exactly what she wanted. She brought trees from her home in New Jersey, she

brought boulders from her home in Newport, she laid it out as a village green. Everyone was delighted.

Megan Hall. RI Artscape the battle over Queen Anne Square Citizens for Queen Anne Square Park (November

24, 2011)


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firehouse. Even the 20th century saw the addition of industrial scale buildings like the Egans Laundry

business. This character of the site is completely ignored in the new design. Rather than telling the

entire history of the site, Lins foundations tell only a certain story focused around a few modest houses

of the colonial era. Although the new design does maintain many of Dukes existing plantings, relate to

her admiration of colonial housing, and retain some of the characteristics of the 1980s path system, the

design completely overlooks the sites commercial, and late-19th and early 20th century history. Lins

design falls short of communicating the history of the site to the public by highlighting some aspects of

the site and not others, which results in an incomplete story.

One area that the design completely fails in is its intent to present preservation as a catalyst for

community revitalization. The construction of stone foundations using the stone remains of historic

Newport buildings borders on a reconstruction project, which is guided by the Secretary of Interiors

Standards for reconstruction. According to the standards, reconstruction will be based on the accurate

duplication of historic features and elements substantiated by documentary or physical evidence [] a

reconstruction will be clearly identified as a contemporary re-creation [and] designs that were never

executed historically will not be constructed.29Two issues with the new stone foundations are that they

are not accurately being reconstructed in that they are designed to be handicapped accessible and

shallow for use as seating. Secondly, the use of historic stones may give the wrong impression to visitors

that the foundations are remaining on the site from colonial times, which is not accurate. The new

construction will have to be clearly identified as an art installation on site to ensure it is not

misunderstood by the public. On the topic, Lin states that, Newport does have a very storied past, and I

want to tap into that. Are we trying to recreate it? Absolutely not. That would be Disney World, and I

29Secretary of the Interiors Standards for Reconstruction National Park Service website

http://www.nps.gov/hps/tps/standguide/reconstruct/reconstruct_standards.htmaccessed 12/7/12
http://www.nps.gov/hps/tps/standguide/reconstruct/reconstruct_standards.htmhttp://www.nps.gov/hps/tps/standguide/reconstruct/reconstruct_standards.htmhttp://www.nps.gov/hps/tps/standguide/reconstruct/reconstruct_standards.htm


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dont do that. But I always do try to be extremely contextual in my work.30While there is significant

new construction that rides the line of reconstruction, ultimately the design is an art installation that is

difficult to judge at an objective level.

Most troubling about the redesign of Queen Anne Square, however, has been the public process

surrounding the project. For a design that is meant to revitalize the community around the square, there

has been an enormous amount of public opposition and dissatisfaction.31By directly commissioning

Maya Lin to design the renovation for Queen Anne Square, the Newport Restoration Foundation

circumvented the public, resulting in a project that could only be cosmetically changed through

subsequent meetings and hearings.32

The public process surrounding the project begged for a better

model to incorporate the city residents, especially for a design that aims to exemplify the unifying and

rejuvenating effects of preservation work.

Conclusion

The area now known as Queen Anne Square has changed significantly over the centuries. What

began as a developing series of blocks south of Washington Square shortly after the colonys founding in

the mid-17th century and grew into a mixed-use commercial area highlighted by Trinity Church, then

later faced destruction by British troops during occupation and rebuilt itself around the surviving Trinity

Church - continuing the area commercial role in the city was, by the mid-19th century, a densely

developed series of urban blocks full of residences, artisan studios, small shops, manufacturers, and civic

30Chan. Architizer News

31 A proposed park redesign by famed architect Maya Lin has prompted a backlash among Newport residents who

say it doesnt fit the citys historic character and hasnt been thoroughly enough debated. [] One city councilman

calls Lins design a travesty and says he has been swamped with calls from residents opposing it.

News Staff.Maya Lins proposed redesign of Newport park prompts backlash Providence Journal (November 16,

2011)32

Yet some worry about the park not having enough comfortable seating (suggesting more traditional benches

instead) [] though the original proposal has been modified and scaled back to appease some of these local

responses (including the addition of seating with backs), Lin defends the integrity of her project []

Chan. Architizer News


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buildings. The next century proved difficult for the site, however, as stores closed, businesses burned

and once stately houses were subdivided into rooming buildings. The most dramatic change in the area

was the creation of a public park Queen Anne Square - over the remains of this once bustling

commercial district. In the colonial maritime era, the role of this area had been to provide valuable land

near the active ports of the Newport harbor for mercantile enterprises and residences. The 19th-century

saw the rise of an economy geared towards speculative real estate development, commercial retail, and

manufacturing. By the mid-1970s, the role of Queen Anne Square was to provide Newport residents

with better housing options facing a public green at the foot of one of its iconic colonial buildings

Trinity Church. Now, in 2012, another change is occurring by once again constructing on the site in the

hopes of better accommodating the public and encouraging a more active use of the park.

Maya Lins design for the Queen Anne Square renovation project would have benefitted from

some key changes to the design and scope of research in order to better meet the goals of the stated

design intent, which included memorializing Doris Dukes preservation efforts in Newport, revitalizing

the community around the park and connecting to the sites history. First, all of Doris Dukes carefully

placed plantings that remain on the site should be maintained as an indication of Dukes original design

intent for the park. Second, if stone foundations are to be constructed, they should relate to structures

that existed throughout Newports history not only its colonial residences, but also maritime

commerce, small 19th century industries and shops, and 20th century buildings. Third, it is imperative to

include the public in the planning of the project if their acceptance of the project is desired. For a site

that was once privately built by individuals who were Newport residents, then given over to the general

public as a park, the process by which Queen Anne Square has been removed from their control in order

to execute the current renovation project has been dissatisfactory. The Newport Restoration Foundation

has completed the work of cutting Newport residences off from Queen Anne Square that began withthe

construction of Americas Cup Boulevard. As the Washington Square Roots initiative demonstrates, it is


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possible, and actually preferable, to bring the public into the discussion about planned projects at the

beginning.33 This results in projects that are generated from the needs of residents. Once projects are

identified through a public design charrette process, then a public design competition can be held as it

was for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. A hybrid elected and appointed board can then select the most

appropriate design and allow the professionals to execute their winning design.34The alternative is the

dysfunctional system used for developing the Queen Anne Square renovation in which the project is

privately planned, the designer is privately commissioned, and then the public is brought in afterwards

to give the appearance of transparency and inclusion. This is an inadequate process that remains from

the 1960s and 70s when disparate opposition was organized into coordinated protesting against top-

down decision-making. For most of American history, government was a relatively weak force in

everyday life, and civic art was often the result of private donation from a wealthy individual or a special

interest group and was not subject to public scrutiny.35 However, by the mid-20thcentury, municipalities

had gained significant control over private property rights in the form of zoning

ordinances.36Furthermore, federal funding in the immediate post-WW2 era gave enormous capabilities

33After an evening of community value setting (identifying what is most important to us) on Friday night, and a

day of workshops (small groups discussing projects, design, and implementation) on Saturday, the Washington Sq.

Roots Charrette Committee, along with the professional facilitator, will put together a report to the community,

and City Council. This report will be our recommendation to the city and community for future development in

Washington Square.

Washington Square Community Charrette (Washington Square Roots Initiative)

http://rwu.edu/sites/default/files/downloads/advancement/wsccharrette_-_oct_19__20_-_info__registration.pdf

accessed 12/2/1234

When regulators are appointed, regulatory policy becomes bundled with other policy issues the appointing

politicians are responsible for. Because voters have only one vote to cast and regulatory issues are not salient for

most voters, there are electoral incentives to respond to stakeholder interests. If regulators are elected, their

stance on regulation is the only salient issue so that the electoral incentive is to run a pro-consumer candidate.

Using panel data on regulatory outcomes from U.S. states, we find new evidence in favor of the idea that elected

states are more pro-consumer in their regulatory policies.

Timothy Besley and Stephen Coate.Elected Versus Appointed Regulators: Theory and Evidence Journal of the

European Economic Association Vol. 1, No. 5 (Sep., 2003) p. 117635

In this era, City Hall was marginal to economic life [] it maintained infrastructure and improved it modestly.

Douglas W. Rae. City: Urbanism and Its End (Yale University Press, 2003) p. 20336

Zoning is the most pervasive and familiar form of local government control over land use. In a zoned legal

regime, land is divided into geographical districts or zones pursuant to local ordinance; municipal regulations then
http://rwu.edu/sites/default/files/downloads/advancement/wsccharrette_-_oct_19__20_-_info__registration.pdfhttp://rwu.edu/sites/default/files/downloads/advancement/wsccharrette_-_oct_19__20_-_info__registration.pdfhttp://rwu.edu/sites/default/files/downloads/advancement/wsccharrette_-_oct_19__20_-_info__registration.pdf


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to local government agencies, which was used to enact large scale urban planning projects. Eventually,

protests against the Vietnam War and other social movements began to reform these large efforts and,

in some cases, put an end to them. In the planning community, the result was to keep the traditional

model of top-down planning, but with a new public process aimed at giving the appearance of public

input, which could lead to, at best, cosmetic changes to project. Fully realizing the reform efforts of the

60s in the form of a grassroots, publically-generated project planning process followed by a design

competition overseen by a hybrid board of panelists is long overdue. Future planning initiatives in

Newport would benefit from an approach more like the model used for Washington Square than for

Queen Anne Square.

specify the types of land use permitted within each zone [] These regulations, together with municipal

regulations governing location of streets and other features of the urban infrastructure, provide public control

over most salient aspects of development.

Andrew J. Cappel.A Walk along Willow: Patterns of Land Use Coordination in Pre-Zoning New Haven (1870-1926)

The Yale Law Journal Vol. 101, No. 3 (Dec., 1991) pp. 617-618


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Figures

Figure 1Doris Duke, 1944 University Archives (Duke University Libraries)

Figure 2Aerial View of Queen Anne Square Google Earth (Google Corporation, 2012)


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Figure 3Maya Lin, 2011 Providence Journal (November 16, 2011)

Figure 4Newport in 1758Ezra Stiles Map of Newport, August 1758 (Redwood Library and Athenaeum)


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Figure 5Newport in 1777A Plan of the Town of Newport in Rhode Island surveyed by Charles Blaskowitz (Will.

Faden, CharingCrofs; Sept. 1, 1777)

Figure 6Newport in 1870 Newport, Rhode Island State Atlas 1870 (Historic Map Works)


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Figure 7Newport in 1884 Sheet No. 8; Newport, Rhode Island, 1884 (Digital Sanborn Maps 1876-1970)



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Figure 9Newport in 1893 Plate J (Index Map of Newport, RI; 1893)



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Figure 11Table of Queen Anne Square Properties 1884-1953 (Created by author)


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Figure 14Newport in 1939 Rhode Island State Aerial Survey (RIGIS)



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Figure 16Newport in 1951 Rhode Island Aerial Survey (RIGIS)



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Figure 20Newport Aerial, pre-1973 The Meeting Room (Doris Duke Monument Foundation)

Figure 21Future location of Queen Anne Square, pre-1975 NewportRI.com/


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Figure 22Aerial View of Queen Anne Square, pre-1975 NewportRI.com/

Figure 23Queen Anne Square 1975-77NewportRI.com/ (John Hopf)


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Figure 26Queen Anne Square proposed modelNewportRI.com/

Figure 27Queen Anne Square proposed aerial viewNewportRI.com/


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Figure 28Queen Anne Square todayNewportRI.com/ (Sean Flynn)

Figure 29Queen Anne Square renovation before and afterNewportNow.com/


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Sources Cited

A Plan of the Town of Newport in Rhode Island surveyed by Charles Blaskowitz (Will. Faden, CharingCrofs; Sept.

1, 1777)

Ezra Stiles Map of Newport, August 1758 (Redwood Library and Athenaeum)

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digging in newport’s queen anne square: providing context for ongoing renovation efforts

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