Newport Facts

What is old can still be new, and this is true of Newport today as it was when the first settlers arrived in the harbor, a popular place of trade. Newport's rich cultural diversity comes from these early days of trade from the West Indies with settlers bringing unusual items like pineapples, which became a welcome symbol displayed then and now in the districts of many Newport inns, restaurants, homes and shops. Whether you are visiting Newport for a mansion tour, a music festival, a yachting event or relaxing vacation on the beach, you will want to explore this old city by the sea.

Downtown and Historic District

The downtown area of Newport is considered the historic district with its surrounding...

.... At least it was accurate, because for a time during the Colonial period it rivaled Boston and even New York as a center of New World trade and prosperity. Newport occupies the southern tip of Aquidneck Island in Narragansett Bay and is connected to the mainland by three bridges and a ferry.

Wealthy industrialists, railroad tycoons, coal magnates, financiers, and robber barons were drawn to the area in the 19th century, especially between the Civil War and World War I. They bought up property at the ocean's rim to build what they called summer "cottages" -- which were, in fact, mansions of immoderate design and proportions patterned after European palaces.

The principal toys of the Newport...