FAQs

Why did the Newport Restoration Foundation (NRF) offer to renovate Queen Anne Square and pay for the redesign costs and future maintenance?

As many know, Doris Duke and the NRF created the park in 1976. As such, our Board feels we have a responsibility to the City and the community to ensure the park’s longevity and beauty for future generations.

Why is now the best time to improve Queen Anne Square?

Unfortunately, the park design that Ms. Duke initially created, has degraded substantially since its original inception. The Board of the NRF felt that the time had come to improve and beautify the park and it would provide an economic boost for Newport. Most importantly, it would make the park more usable for residents and visitors, as well as have a positive economic impact for the surrounding small businesses.

How will the initial conceptual designs compare with the detailed final plan for the park?

When most concepts are introduced for public comment, the artists and architects limit their ideas to simple plans or sketches. They do this because they understand that the public can offer some key insight and suggestions that should be considered before creating the final plans. For the last five months we have been receiving public comment and feedback, and based on those conversations there has been an increasing number of designs over time, leading to the plan presented for final approval.

What is the timeline for public viewing of models, sketches, or plans of any redesigns?

Public input has been one of the key ingredients for our revisions to the initial concepts. Now that the comment period is over and the design period has moved to the next phase the model will be available for view at the Newport Public Library beginning the week of October 24th. New renderings and plans of a more concrete nature will also be available for public view at that time.

Will there be an increase in the number of trees in the newly designed park?

Yes - there will actually be a net gain of seven new trees in the park once the renovations are complete. Currently, there are 39 trees on the City-owned portion of the park and only nine of them are slated to be moved or cut down. We are planning to add 16 trees, since one of the park’s current deficiencies is that only a few of its existing trees provide good shade. When renovations are complete, the park will have seven more trees than it has now. It is also important to note that one of the first groups NRF met with in the planning phase was the Newport Tree Commission, whose feedback was invaluable, and who has the final say on the tree planting plan.

How much green space will exist in the new park?

When the park is complete, there will be almost the exact same amount of grass available for visitors as there is today. Today, several areas of the park are covered by bushes and undergrowth that make certain spaces there completely unusable. Shrubs and undergrowth currently occupy about 2,630 square feet. At the suggestion of city staff and the police department, undergrowth will be removed to improve public safety. This will also allow us to add grass where there is currently none. The design will also include three foundations, which will provide usable seating for visitors. These foundations will occupy 1,940 square feet, and will result in a net gain of 690 square feet of grass. Based on public feedback, we decided to make these foundations smaller than originally proposed and they will only take up 3.39% of the total square footage in the park.

What is the purpose of the foundations?

Our goal has always been to honor Doris Duke’s vision for the park by improving the current state of the green space and providing a more welcoming, engaging place for the community. For those that are unable to sit on the grass or do not enjoy sitting on the ground, there is no seating in the current park. The foundations, which are quite shallow and the height of a normal chair, will function as benches and increase the seating capacity in the Square. From a symbolic perspective, the foundations – which are taken from historic buildings that previously existed in and around Queen Anne Square – create a tribute to Newport’s Historic Preservation Movement and to Doris Duke’s role.

What are the symbolic aspects of the design, and their role in the new park?

Maya Lin’s vision for the foundations was inspired by the role of preservation and by the human memory of what had been in the park. It was also her feeling that while Newport’s architectural heritage was all around us, these new elements would evoke the sense of Newport’s ancient past and might help bring visitors in greater touch with the fabric around them, much as the ruins of cathedrals and castles do in Europe. The point is that you shouldn’t just see it, you should feel it. The refurbishment of Queen Anne Square is a civic art project. Artwork is meant to inspire, and has its own authenticity. It is our goal that the improved Queen Anne Square will create a new authenticity.

Of the $3.5 million dollars cost of the project, how much is being funded by the taxpayer?

None. This project is being made possible entirely through private funding. Not only will that funding be used to greatly improve the park, but a special fund of private dollars will also be used to maintain and update the park for future generations. In essence, this gift will help alleviate the City’s obligation to put more resources into Queen Anne Square. The gift will allow City resources to be used for other projects throughout Newport that the City Council deems worthy of public funding.

Describe the public outreach effort that allowed citizens to provide feedback on the redesign plans.

Over the past several months we have held more than 50 meetings with community groups, public officials, and individual city residents. Many of those meetings were open to the public. We also have an open door policy at NRF, encouraging those with concerns or constructive ideas to approach us about them. We want to inform as many Newport residents as possible with the redesign of Queen Anne Square, and we look forward to discussing the project with our friends and neighbors as we move forward.

What will be the significant changes to the park compared with how it looks today?

This project is an enhancement to improve the park, not a radical redesign. It has always been the intention of the NRF to retain the important elements that the community enjoys - an abundance of grass, an inviting place to enjoy the sun or the shade, and the view of Trinity Church. The improvements such as the foundations for seating, the movement of trees to provide shade and allow sun, the revised pathways for easy access, are meant to enhance what is already there. The park design achieves all the things people told us they wanted to see in the new design. We are confident that people who enjoy and use the park now, will enjoy it even more once the improvements are complete. And, perhaps, encourage those who haven’t taken advantage of it to do so.

What is the DDMF?

Formed in 2010 as an independent, private foundation with 501(c)(3) tax exempt status, the Doris Duke Monument Foundation (DDMF), is an offshoot of the Newport Restoration Foundation (NRF). DDMF is administered in parallel with the NRF staff and board. It is raising funds for the project at Queen Anne Square through a combination of private and foundation support for both construction and future maintenance. The DDMF will become a self-supporting friends’ organization which will oversee maintenance and administration for the park in the future.

What is the Newport Restoration Foundation?

Founded by Doris Duke in 1968, NRF was created to rescue Newport’s dilapidated homes, many of which were at risk of being demolished. Today, NRF owns 82 historic structures of which 70 are lived in by individual tenant-stewards. For this continuing work, NRF was honored with a Stewardship Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 2010. NRF operates three museum sites: Rough Point, the former home of Doris Duke; Whitehorne House, displaying a collection of early American furniture; and Prescott Farm in Middletown, featuring historic buildings on a preserved rural landscape. A non-profit institution, the foundation continues to be actively engaged in historic preservation, educational programming and scholarly research.