Washington Square Roots Initiative

07/23/2026

Even after studying Newport architecture for many decades, we still regularly make new discoveries that help me better understand the community's rich architectural history. This week, it is the discovery that noted Colonial architect-builder Richard Munday is the probable designer of one of Newport's hidden treasures: the interior of the Sabbatarian Meeting House, which is now integrated into the Newport Historical Society's facility located on Touro Street. Here is a short article on this small but important work of architecture: https://a4arch.com/a4-spotlight-the-newport-sabbatarian-meeting-house-a-hidden-colonial-era-treasure . Thank you for reading, liking, commenting, and sharing this post.

(Seventh Day Baptist Meeting House – Newport, RI c.1890) Richard Munday was a Colonial-Era Architect-Builder who is famous for two noteworthy Newport structures: the Old Colony House and Trinity Church. He is also the author behind another structure that is now hidden from sight. Tucked behind the...

08/17/2023

Newport and Rhode Island were famous during the Colonial era for being places where many faiths were allowed flourish side by side. Quakers and Jews that were persecuted elsewhere in the United States were welcomed to Newport (as were many other faiths) and it is one of the reasons that the city was so economically successful in the period before the Revolutionary War. Until freedom of religion was ensconced into the United States Constitution in 1788, Newport was arguably the most religiously diverse square mile in the world. Each year there is a ceremony where the letter written by Touro Synagogue Warden Moses Seixas to President George Washington is read and then Washington's letter back to the Congregation is read in response. These words are a forceful reminder of the religious freedom that Washington clearly believed in and how important this concept is to the idea of "Freedom" in America. This letter reading is scheduled for this Sunday with retiring Rhode Island Congressman David Ciccolini giving the keynote address following the readings. Here is a short article about the oldest synagogue in America and the annual Letter Reading: https://a4arch.com/newport-spotlight-touro-synagogue/

Newport is famous for many things and for many “firsts” as it was the fifth largest city in colonial America and a major and prosperous settlement before the Revolutionary War. Among the things that Newport takes great pride in for is being a place of tremendous religious freedom at a time in hi...

08/03/2023

National Historic Landmarks and Landmark Districts are places that have been determined to be essential to the architectural and cultural history of the United States. There are 24 of them in the one square mile of Newport Rhode Island, which is more than eleven states (measuring in some cases hundreds of thousands of square miles) have in total. This incredible concentration of buildings and neighborhoods from the Colonial and Gilded Age eras is an architectural treasure trove that has made Newport a primary destination for historic tourism. Here is a short post about these historic monuments and districts: https://a4arch.com/a4-architectural-spotlight-newport-national-historic-landmarks/
Thank you for reading, liking, commenting and sharing this post if you find it interesting or informative.

The Brick Market   Newport, Rhode Island is a city with a rich history dating back to its founding in 1639. At the date of the Declaration of Independence, it was the fifth-most populace city in the American colonies and a major center of trade and commerce. As a result, Newport has a large number ...

07/04/2023

There are not many places where you can go to hear the Declaration of Independence read from the exact same spot as where it was read in 1776, but Newport, Rhode Island is one of them. This document, proclaiming independence from the British Isles (when the British Iles ruled a large part of the world), was a daring declaration and one that was far from certain to succeed. In Newport, it is read each year from the steps of the Colony House, originally built in 1739. Here is a short article on the building and the Reading: https://a4arch.com/old-colony-house/Thank you for liking, commenting and sharing this link, if you find it interesting or informative!

Newport is a place of authentic architectural monuments and living history. The houses of the Point and Historic Hill, including the Old Colony House...

05/04/2023

To celebrate Ross Cann's thirtieth anniversary as a licensed professional architect (and the tenth anniversary of his A4 Architecture Blog) he put down some of the "Words of Wisdom" I have coined over the years to explain architecture and other connected things to friends and clients: https://a4arch.com/the-a4-architectural-words-of-wisdom/ Thank you for reading, liking, and commenting on them and FEEL FREE TO QUOTE HIM! *_^

After being a licensed architect for thirty years (which is even more amazing considering how long it takes to become licensed), I am taking the liberty of sharing some thoughts and quotations that I have developed over that time. I hope you will find some of them insightful, informative, or amusing...

04/06/2023

Brick Market Front Façade – Newport, RI At the center of historic Newport, Rhode Island sits the Brick Market. This structure is an important historic building and was designed by the renowned architect Peter Harrison in 1762. Peter Harrison (1716-1775) was an English-born architect who emigrated...

03/16/2023

Painting of Washington Square and Long Wharf – 1818   One of Newport, Rhode Island’s oldest and most important landmarks is not a building, but a road called “Long Wharf.” When Newport was first founded in 1639 it was settled based on two critical characteristics: a well-protected harbor ju...

03/09/2023

Pedestrian malls are areas of a city or town where cars are not allowed and pedestrians have free rein. Pedestrian malls became popular in the United States during the 1960s and 1970s as a way to try to revitalize downtown areas that were struggling due to suburbanization and the rise of automobile....

03/07/2023

For much of the twentieth century the shopping mall was the embodiment of American consumerism, a bastion of capitalism, and an icon of Consumer Economy. But as we approach the second decade of the 21st century, it’s clear that the heyday of the shopping mall has come and gone. So how did we get h...

08/16/2022

Newport, Rhode Island, having been settled in 1639, is famous for many "firsts" and "oldests" in the country. Among those is the "Oldest existing synagogue in North America". The Touro Synagogue was built it 1759 and each year the congregation celebrates the religious freedom that was the foundation of Newport from its earliest days by having a public reading of the letter George Washington sent to the congregation in 1790 declaring his support for religious freedom in United States. Here is a short article about this letter and the institution that received and cherishes it: https://a4arch.com/newport-spotlight-touro-synagogue/
Thank you for Reading, Liking, Commenting and Sharing the post, if you find it interesting and informative.

Newport is famous for many things and for many “firsts” as it was the fifth largest city in colonial America and a major and prosperous settlement before the Revolutionary War. Among the things that Newport takes great pride in for is being a place of tremendous religious freedom at a time in hi...