Council pauses decision on moving Vanderbilt memorial after neighborhood objections

The Newport City Council on Monday voted to continue consideration of a proposal from the city’s Public Sculpture Commission to relocate the Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt memorial from its current site on Broadway to the Bellevue/Memorial Boulevard corner after residents and preservation volunteers pressed for more outreach and cost details.

Federico Santi, chair of the Newport Public Sculpture Commission, told the council the memorial’s fountain and basin have suffered decades of deterioration, vandalism and concrete‑filled pipework that complicates restoring the fountain in its current location. The commission said moving the memorial to a site by Empire Tea and Coffee would allow re‑establishing water and sewage service in an accessible basement space, reduce construction of above‑ground mechanical housings and lower the estimated cost. Santi said the commission also envisions using the freed Broadway park site to erect a memorial to Dr. Marcus Wheatland, a prominent African‑American physician in Newport’s history.

Nearby residents and the Off Broadway Neighborhood Association urged the council to pause. Multiple speakers — including Jack MacVicar of the neighborhood association — said the memorial has been part of Broadway’s history since its installation and that many neighbors prefer restoration in the current location. They provided written correspondence opposing relocation and asked for additional public meetings and clearer, itemized cost estimates for moving versus on‑site restoration. A City volunteer conservation effort and past study groups recommended relocation after determining site constraints made on‑site restoration prohibitively expensive; the commission cited rough estimates of as much as $150,000 to $300,000 depending on approach and location and noted the presence of an existing basement utility access at the proposed Bellevue site.

Councilors called for more outreach to the Broadway neighborhood and for a clearer funding and design plan. One councilor asked that the property owner whose basement utilities might be used be invited to testify; council members also said they wanted to see design renderings and an itemized cost breakdown for on‑site rehabilitation vs. relocation.

The council voted to continue the matter so the sculpture commission and affected neighborhoods can meet again and provide more details, including funding sources and a design schematic.

What’s next: The sculpture commission will be asked to present a more detailed cost estimate, documented outreach records, proposed renderings of the Bellevue placement, and a plan for what would occupy the Broadway site if the memorial is moved.