Washington Square Roots Initiative

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 Spotlight: Touro Synagogue | A4 Architecture + Planning, Inc. | Newport, RI 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...

A4 Architecture Spotlight: The Rise and Fall of the American Pedestrian Malls Center | A4 Architecture + Planning, Inc. | Newport, RI 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....

Newport, although perhaps most famous for its Gilded Age mansions, is also notable for the extraordinary number and quality of its Colonial Era buildings. Because Newport was the fifth largest city in America in 1776, the community still has over 6oo structures dating to the Colonial Period. In comparison New York City, which was the largest city at that time, only has 6 Colonial Era buildings remaining. The city never became so populous to require the tearing down of these old buildings but never became so poor that they fell down through neglect as they did many other places. Here is a short article on the Newport's Colonial architectural heritage: https://a4arch.com/newport-architecture-colonial-settlement/
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Newport Architecture Spotlight: Colonial Settlement | A4 Architecture + Planning, Inc. | Newport, RI Early on, Newport was a wealthy colonial settlement - the 5th largest in North America at the date of the Declaration of Independence...