Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Public Art topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Public Sculpture Commission seeks council endorsement to relocate Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt memorial
Summary
The Public Sculpture Commission presented a plan to move the Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Memorial from Broadway to a site near Empire Tea and Coffee on Bellevue Avenue, citing vandalism and lack of utilities at the current location; commissioners requested council endorsement for the relocation and restoration work.
Federico Santi, chair of the Newport Public Sculpture Commission, reviewed the history and condition of the Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt Memorial and asked the council to endorse the commission's recommendation to move the memorial from its current location on Broadway to a planting area in front of Empire Tea and Coffee on Bellevue Avenue.
Santi described decades of vandalism and the need either to buy back an original granite plinth or recreate a new base at significant cost. He said a private property owner on Bellevue had agreed to allow utilities to run from the basement to the fountain and that the commission had met with open‑space committees and some neighborhood groups; the commission formally requested council endorsement to proceed with the relocation and the state permitting process.
Councilors discussed whether the memorial could be restored in place; one councilor read a resident letter urging retention on Broadway as part of the street's character. The item was received as a communication and not acted on as an action item that night.
