Celebrations planned for two Rocky Point Openings

John Howell
Posted 10/16/14

“Come with your family…come with your friends.”

That’s the invitation the state is making as it reopens 82 acres of the former Rocky Point amusement park on Saturday, Oct. 25.

The …

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Celebrations planned for two Rocky Point Openings

Posted

“Come with your family…come with your friends.”

That’s the invitation the state is making as it reopens 82 acres of the former Rocky Point amusement park on Saturday, Oct. 25.

The daylong event will include an opportunity to see most of the property, enjoy music, buy food, see what planners envision as options for the park and hear what officials have to say about the historic occasion.

To get a jump-start on the occasion, the Department of Environmental Management will host an official ceremony at the park featuring the governor, elected officials and individuals who worked to save the site as open space. The ceremony begins at 10 a.m. on Friday, Oct. 24.

DEM Director Janet Coit visited the park last week.

“I got shivers,” she said Tuesday. “It’s so beautiful…breathtaking…I just couldn’t believe it.”

She credited preservation of the park to the stewardship of so many, adding that Gov. Lincoln Chafee made acquisition and reopening the park a priority of his administration.

The reopening marks the near completion of the park cleanup. While the cottages of Rocky Beach have been razed, debris piles continue to be sorted and removed. Until that is completed, the area will be closed to the public, Lisa Primiano, director of DEM’s Land Acquisition and Conservation Program, said Friday.

But that section of the park that holds memories for so many has been transformed and will be open to wander through, although grass is just pushing up in some sections and has yet to germinate in others. Gone are the world’s largest shore dinner hall, the Palladium and the Windjammer. Open are vistas of the bay and the bridges to the south.

There are remnants – reminders – of the property’s nearly 150-year-long role as a summer place to bring the family, ride the rides, listen to music, or simply enjoy the bay breeze and watch the sea gulls dive for scraps at the takeout window for clamcakes and chowder. Visitors will recognize the iconic arch and the stanchions for the Skyride that transect the southern end of the park. Now cleared of vines and brush, the stanchion for the swing ride, one of the park’s older rides, stands stark like an oilrig against the sky. The clearing has also opened to view what remains of one of the park’s earlier structures, the observatory tower.

Hundreds of tons of concrete – foundations to buildings and rides – were removed from the site. In fact, Primiano said, there was more concrete than estimated, which pushed up the $2.4 million bid for the park cleanup. She said that has been partially offset by a reduction in hazardous materials expected to be on the property.

The cleanup of the amusement park side of the property was under a tight 75-day schedule that required HK&S Construction of North Kingstown to work on some weekends and had heavy equipment breaking up concrete and pulling steel beams, twisted tracks, cables and metal sheets from mountains of debris.

Throwing a wrench into the schedule, vandals hit the site on Aug. 12, smashing the windows and damaging the controls to more than a dozen pieces of heavy equipment.

A portion of the park’s extensive parking lot remains and will be used for both events. Vehicle access will be from Palmer Avenue. Gates to that road, which served as the park’s exit, will be closed after the two days and for an indefinite period until cleanup of Rocky Beach is completed and a plan put in place.

Working with the city, which took the first step to preserve the 124-acre amusement park with the purchase of 41 shore acres from the Small Business Administration in 2007, a tent will be erected near the site of the Palladium. The city’s department of economic development and tourism, as well as the Rocky Point Foundation, the non-profit that spearheaded efforts for a 2010 state bond issue to purchase the remaining park land from the BSA, are also working on planning the two opening events.

The Veterans Memorial High School band will perform at the Friday ceremony. According to Principal Gerald Habershaw, the band has been practicing the Rocky Point jingle and is expected to play the familiar tune and the national anthem.

Thanks to the efforts of the city’s department of tourism, a number of food trucks will be at the park on Saturday. The department has also worked with the Rocky Point Foundation in booking the 12-piece Night Life Orchestra to perform for the opening Saturday and into the afternoon.

The foundation will have commemorative t-shirts for sale, as well as a limited number of plates rescued from the shore dinner hall. And the Rhode Island School of Design, which considered possible developments of the park, will have displays and seek public input.

In the short range, Primiano said DEM plans to use $450,000 in recreational funds to develop a “flat” walking path that would link with the city path, and in wetland sections would include some boardwalks. She said there would be a secondary, more challenging path that would follow the ridgeline of the park’s rocky terrain. She is hopeful the design for those features could be completed by the end of this year.

“We want people to go out there and use it,” she said of the park.

Coit sees the cleanup as the second phase of three phases for the park that started with its acquisition from the SBA. She sees construction of a pier and a path and the design and approval of a master plan as the third phase.

For the moment, she exalts in the openness and expanse of the park.

“It’s a beautiful, special place,” she said. “Let’s enjoy the emptiness.”

Warwick Mayor Scott Avedisian, likewise, is looking forward to the reopening of the full park. Calling the reopening “a dream come true” and a top priority of his administration, he said, “It is only fitting that it was accomplished this year – 50 years after the late senator and governor John H. Chafee voiced his vision for a Bay Island Park system. Fifty years later, it is a reality. There were days I wondered if it would happen, but through hard work and determination, it is now a reality.”

Avedisian went on to thank Governor Chafee, Coit, the state’s federal delegation, the Rhode Island General Assembly and the Warwick City Council.

“Many hands made this work successful, and I am grateful to all of them. City employees Dan Geagan, Bill DePasquale and David Picozzi need special thanks, along with recently retired chief of staff and planning director Mark Carruolo. They endured countless speeches from me about preserving Rocky Point for future generations,” he said.

“This property is unique and holds a special place in many hearts. It is comforting to know that it is now open and in the public domain to be used for generations to come. Well done,” he added.

Comments

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  • johnmal1

    Great! What time will the event begin on Saturday?

    Thursday, October 16, 2014 Report this

  • JohnStark

    I'm frequently critical of the way the city does things, but they've nailed this. I still think some sort of revenue generator would be helpful on a small part of the land. Well done, City!!

    Thursday, October 16, 2014 Report this

  • mthompsondc

    Congratulations, John and everyone else, for a job well done.

    Thursday, October 16, 2014 Report this

  • ..

    The mayor knows how to crack his whip to make himself look good right before an election. he knows how to keep his little slave dogs happy, just keep throwing them the extra bonus scraps, compliments of the warwick taxpayers

    Friday, October 17, 2014 Report this

  • Chowdalady

    .

    Friday, October 17, 2014 Report this

  • Chowdalady

    SabrinaV you sound like charming young lady; with an Intelligence Quotient as low as yours it is no wonder you are trolling the internet spewing filth and venom with reckless abandon . . .

    This is an phenomenal project . .politics have nothing to do with it . . .the people of the state of RI, "slave dogs" as you called them demanded it by way of vote . . .go back to your kennel while the rest of us enjoy this amazing property - What a coup for the city and state; I love taking my children here to play on the two beaches and walk the path . . now there is even more property . .it is fantastic; such a rare victory for the people of the Ocean State to acquire this land . . . .you probably dream of the 400 condos that were almost built here . . .Great job to all involved with this!

    Friday, October 17, 2014 Report this

  • bendover

    Hey that's great! Now that the State has gone all in on the 82 acres, time for Warwick to sell its 41 acres and get it back on the tax rolls, after all, citizens are guaranteed a right to public shoreline access...This will go down in history as Scottie's folly, especially in a few more years when Warwick will look like Cranston did 15 years ago, on the verge of insolvency and chapter 9 due to reckless and irresponsible spending, a shrinking population and more properties coming off the tax rolls because of that other money loser, the State airport...It's losing passengers as fast as we are losing population...sell, sell, sell...

    Saturday, October 18, 2014 Report this

  • ConcernedResident

    I'm with the positive camp on this one. Great job by all involved, and a win for all of RI. Thank you to each person who worked on bringing this effort through to the finish line.

    Saturday, October 18, 2014 Report this

  • Chowdalady

    B. Dover - with a name like that . .enough said . .. knows nothing about anything . . and is too obese to enjoy a nice walking path , , get out of your mom's basement and get a job!

    Saturday, October 18, 2014 Report this

  • patientman

    Chowdalady, I dream of the tax revenue from the 400 condo's. That said, if the state can find a revenue source and it is as well maintained as Goddard it can be a win. Not as much revenue as we would have gotten out of RE taxes but it can be a nice space. We'll see.

    Monday, October 20, 2014 Report this

  • bendover

    Memo to chowderhead; TY for your lucid, erudite and morally superior comment. We simply must make you a member of the University club and a board member of Beacon communications with such a grasp of linguistics, business acumen and profligate spending. How did Harvard on the hill let you escape? I know, you are a legend in your own mind while serving as a microcosm of all that is wrong with this State. I hope Adolf Meyer allows you some free time to go outside and enjoy some sunlight and fresh air, so that you might be able to form a cogent thought. OH, and have a nice day.

    Monday, October 20, 2014 Report this

  • Chowdalady

    Agree on tax generator Patientman - condos would probably have been an infrastructure drain; but business might be a nice balance.

    Ben makes me laugh; bet he worked on that reply all day; had his mom spellcheck it.

    ps. the perceived "superiority" is known as sarcasm . . in response to your vulgarity. (get your dictionary out)

    Monday, October 20, 2014 Report this

  • HerbTokerman

    Condos would be a horrible idea .. look at all the vacant condos in providence and everywhere else around the state.

    There isn't really enough road access for businesses in the area.

    15-20 minutes off the highway with only a one lane road to get there..

    100 years from now your great grandchildren will appreciate a nice natural place in an urban/suburban wasteland.

    Tuesday, October 21, 2014 Report this