What's historic in Newport?

Shops along Newport’s Thames Street near Waites Wharf

Shops along Newport’s Thames Street near Waites Wharf

From Robert Whitcomb’s “Digital Diary,’’ in GoLocal24.com

The main owner of the western end of Waites Wharf, in Newport, and the owners of The Deck restaurant, Riptides bar and Dockside nightclub on the wharf, want to demolish those establishments to make way for a 150-room waterfront hotel. Some people want to block the demolition with the argument that the buildings are somehow historically significant, which seems a stretch to me.

The bigger issue is whether it’s a good idea that even more of downtown Newport’s storied waterfront be blocked off by hotels and condos. And a longer-term issue is what rising seas, which already imperil the city’s Point neighborhood, might do to the likes of Waites Wharf.

Please hit this link to read a good article in the Newport Daily News article on this.