Ornate Gate on the Cliff Walk Newport Rhode Island
by Debra Martz
Title
Ornate Gate on the Cliff Walk Newport Rhode Island
Artist
Debra Martz
Medium
Photograph - Photography
Description
Ornate Gate on the Cliff Walk New port Rhode Island ©Debra Martz. One of Newport’s most popular attractions is the 3.5-mile Cliff Walk, a trail that runs along the rocky cliffs on the southeastern side of Newport. It is famous for both the scenic beauty of the Atlantic coastline, as well as the grandeur of the Gilded Age mansions on the opposite side, but its origins were far more practical. Much to the chagrin of millionaire property owners who would come several centuries later, the legal concept behind the Cliff Walk came in 1663, when King Charles II granted a charter that allowed all colonists to fish along the shoreline. This doctrine of publicly accessible was later enshrined in the Rhode Island state constitution which is still in effect today. It seems that the right of people to walk along the cliffs soon came into conflict with the privacy and the property rights of the millionaires who built their summer homes here along the coast in the late 1800s. With that being said, I could not find information on these gates other than finally seeing them in a photo online in the Library of Congress dated about 1905. It is my conclusion that the property owners were not allowed to lock people out of the Cliff Walk but the Ornate Gates were left in place, unlocked. ©Debra Martz, All Rights Reserved
In My Gallery/Collection: East Coast USA 20231005-DSC_9041.NEF
Uploaded
November 1st, 2023
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