Advocating for public support of historic preservation is a key mission of The Preservation Society of Newport County.  We urge our members to be active in their home towns preserving historic properties, landscapes and public spaces.   Here in Newport, the City Council has recently received proposals to improve the regulatory process in Newport's Historic District.  The Preservation Society will be advocating for continued protection of Newport's rich history at a City Council workshop on these proposals, scheduled for March 4, 2009 at 6:30 p.m. at Newport City Hall.



Letter to the Editor of the Newport Daily News by Pierre duPont Irving, Chairman of the Board of The Preservation Society of Newport County

For a small city of 26,000 residents Newport is in a unique position regarding name recognition. When one speaks of cultural destinations, comparisons are often made between Newport and larger historic American cities like Annapolis, Savannah, and Charleston. People from every continent on the globe express familiarity with the “City by the Sea”.

The former America’s Cup races, the Newport Jazz Festival, and the annual Tennis Hall of Fame inductions helped to put Newport on the map but these events, while certainly exciting, are not the principle reason that Newport has achieved global fame. The confluence of geography, history and culture worked their magic in this city to create a truly special place where the sheer beauty of a summer’s sunset across Narragansett Bay casts late day shadows on many of the country’s most significant landmarks: Touro Synagogue, Trinity Church, The Redwood Library, The Colony House, The Breakers, and the list goes on and on.

Imbedded within these buildings and the many private colonial houses that remain a vibrant part of the living fabric of Newport is a treasure of such grand measure that it cannot be found anywhere else in this great land.  Newport is the last intact wooden city in North America, with over 300 buildings dating before the American Revolution.

Our Gilded Age Mansions are not only a time capsule of a period when America was becoming an economic power, but are a product of the artistic talent of some of the finest architects in American history. For this, in 2007, the United States National Park Service recognized Newport as ‘worthy’ of World Heritage designation.”  (From the City of Newport Department of Economic Development)

Made tangible by aged wood and bricks and mortar, this treasure is nothing less than an important part of our nation’s heritage, and it is a part of the economic lifeblood of our town. While we intuitively know this, we sometimes forget, or set aside for expediency’s sake the fact that not only is Newport’s treasure authentic, it is irreplaceable and increasingly fragile.

Every newly-installed cobra head street light and added overhead power line tests that fragility to its limits. The indiscriminate tear-down of a centuries old property to make way for a modern structure or the demolishing of historic gates and gate posts for want of something new sends seismic shockwaves through Newport’s very historic core.

The fear is we may fail to heed the clarion call for preserving our City and our quality of life before it is too late. “Irreplaceable” leaves no wiggle room. Once Newport is defaced or made non-recognizable we will never find it again. Our city will become just another part of America’s homogenized landscape and the experience of Newport, so important to those of us who live here and which draws so many visitors from all over the world, will be drastically diminished.

Almost a year ago the City Council created the Historic District Ordinance Review Task Force to review the Historic District Zoning Ordinance and make recommendations to enable the city to continue to protect its important architectural heritage in an effective manner and improve upon the administrative process for applications. The task force met a total of 56 times since they began their work in last March. All of their meetings were open to the public. The Historic District Zoning Ordinance Review Task Force recently presented a report to the City Council which outlines their recommendations.

The Newport City Council and City administration, business institutions, local preservation organizations and residents must come together and build upon their efforts to protect the historic fabric of Newport in an efficient and effective manner. It is important that The Newport City Council and City Administration provide the leadership to move this process forward. In order for this process to be effective, it is critical that the City of Newport have a Preservation Planner. Continuing to budget for that position, despite difficult economic conditions, is an investment in the future of our city which will pay for itself many times over.

Remarks by Trudy Coxe, CEO and Executive Director of The Preservation Society of Newport County, delivered at a meeting of the Newport City Council on December 10, 2008 regarding proposed revisions to the city's Historic District ordinance:

Good evening, Ladies and Gentlemen. Thank you for the opportunity to speak.

Before getting into my remarks, I want to give each of you a copy of  Lost Newport, which makes a compelling and poignant case about the importance of historic preservation. This book, our latest publication, was authored by Paul Miller, the Preservation Society’s curator, and it documents the loss of 50 great houses, demonstrating just how fragile our city’s architectural heritage is, and why it is important for all of us to be ever-vigilant when it comes to preservation. 

Historic zoning is not a new topic for the Preservation Society.  At its annual meeting in 1955, the topic of zoning came up. According to the minutes of that meeting, the Preservation Society wanted the city to enact a local ordinance which would prevent the razing of old buildings until a board of experts could advise as to their value. It was further discussed that Newporters should explore and study action taken by the Massachusetts Legislature to create the Historic Beacon Hill District in Boston.

Seven years later, on May 2, 1962 at a meeting of the “Committee on Historic Zoning” here in Newport, William Corcoran, then a trustee of the Preservation Society, and today one of Newport’s most prominent lawyers,  offered a succinct explanation for what historic zoning is really all about.

Bill pointed out the purpose of an historic zoning ordinance is to "safeguard the heritage of a town by preserving elements of its cultural, social, economic, political and architectural histories, and in doing so to stabilize property values, to strengthen the economy and to promote the use of historic districts for education, pleasure and welfare of the citizens of the city and visitors to it.”

Here we are 46 years later and I could not say it any better than Bill did in 1962.

As members of a Council in a City that includes some of the most extraordinary and unique historic assets of any community in America, your actions in the months ahead are incredibly important.

You have already shown tremendous leadership in taking the initiative to establish the Historic District Zoning Ordinance Review Task Force earlier this year, charging them with reviewing the ordinances in effect in Newport.

As a bystander, I have to tell you that this task force took their assignment seriously. These volunteers gave many hours of their time conducting research, reaching out for expert advice, then sitting down to discuss how we as a community might best go about maintaining the character of Newport’s historic districts without creating burdensome hurdles for residents to overcome.

We believe the work of the task force must not be for naught, and therefore ask that the City Council move expeditiously to work closely with both the task force and the public to review, discuss and finalize a new strategy for historic zoning in Newport.

We believe that the City needs to establish target dates for further public discussion, and, most importantly, by which the recommendations are adopted by the City. I think all of us need to see some conclusion to the uncertainty that currently exists.

Finally, we urge the City to begin soon to find a new Preservation Planner to replace Shantia Anderhoeggen. As one of the few historic communities in America without such expertise, it’s important that we secure the professional knowledge needed so that all of us can be certain that good decisions are made.

In closing, we thank the members of the task force for their thoughtful deliberations, and for caring so genuinely about Newport and its future. We offer to the City Council any assistance we may be able to provide.