Tags: Rhode Island, Ruins

This place can be found along the water in Scarborough State Park.  We noticed it coming back from the Block Island Ferry.  Really not much to say, other than it’s impressive oceanfront ruins.  Poison ivy abounded here; luckily I managed to avoid it.

Popularity: 21% [?]

Tags: Block Island, Island, Rhode Island, Ruins

Not far from the port on Block Island can be found the ruins of the Ocean View Hotel, destroyed by fire in 1966.  Sections of the foundation and some rubble are all that remains of it today.  The area also had quite a bit of poison ivy, so needless to say, I had to tread very carefully.

Part of the area has been maintained by schoolkids and is being used as a garden.  We didn’t see anything growing when we were there though.

The above bluff is right by the hotel site.  A small plaque on the ground tells of a couple being married on this spot.

Popularity: 18% [?]

Tags: Folklore, Historical, Mystery, Rhode Island, Roadside Oddity, Ruins, Tower

I had been meaning to get to this one for a number of years, but it was usually out of the way.  Since we were touring a mansion in Newport, I finally had a chance to get to the “Viking Tower” in Touro Park.  Nobody seems to be clearly sure of its age or who built it.  There are 2 major sides to the theory of this structure’s origin – some people think it’s the remains of some sort of mill from the 16-1700’s, while others feel it was built much earlier – around 1000 – by Vikings.

The tower, windmill, or whatever it was sits in the middle of the park, surrounded by a small fence.  There are lights at its base, and a statue of William Ellery Channing – a prominent Unitarian from the 1800’s – is nearby.

I found a 360-panoramic of Touro Park.  Kinda trippy.

…wow, ‘trippy’ isn’t in my spellchecker.

Popularity: 26% [?]