Climate change is a concern worldwide, and New England’s famed coastal areas are feeling the effects of extreme weather. Hurricanes and nor’easters are becoming more severe and intense,
Among the areas in peril are some of Rhode Island’s historic properties. In Rhode Island PBS Weekly’s Green Seeker Series, the erosion of the state’s heritage is examined — as well as a look at how officials are trying to stem the tide caused by climate change.
Here are conversations with Frankie Vagnone, president of the Newport Restoration Foundation; Alyssa Lozupone, the organization’s director of preservation; and Leslie Jones, curator and director of museum affairs at the Preservation Society for Newport County.
The complete interview can be found here.
Frankie Vagnone stewards the Rough Point Mansion and museum in Newport. He says that the residence of the late Doris Duke — tobacco heiress, collector and philanthropist — is in “an extremely vulnerable position” because of storms.
“Now what we have are climate change issues, which are increasing the storm intensity, the winds,” Vagnone says. “Normal wear and tear and weathering of this house has been kind of exponentially multiplied.
“So we’re getting winds at such level that the sea water’s being pushed through the stone wall, through the mortar, through the interior of the wall, through the plaster.”
The mansion houses collections of rare fine art and priceless objects were collected by the Duke family.
Damage apparent at Rough Point Museum
Damage can be seen in the mansion’s music room, where Duke’s debutante ball was held. Alyssa Lozupone said the hand-painted Chinese wallpaper began showing signs of water damage.
“This is one of the primary areas where we started to see water infiltration,” she says. “We started to see damage on the wallpaper itself. So in this section, we actually removed the wallpaper.”
While the wallpaper was offsite, Luzupone said museum officials opened up the wall “to see what’s happening.”
What they found was disturbing. There was cracked granite and brownstone that enabled water to seep into the building.
Repairing the masonry and replacing the roof is the first step in Rough Point’s ongoing restoration. The second phase will focus on the solarium — where there is a fragile line between the outdoors and inside.
“This (solarium) was meant to be a space where you could enjoy the views,” Lozupone says. “Now we’re seeing damage caused by proximity to the water.”
Because plaster is falling, the furniture is being covered. The mansion’s bronze doors and windows need to be repaired.
The nonprofit is working to protect the property and is letting the public know about how climate change is affecting the mansion. There are signs prominently displayed throughout Rough Point.
Vagnone says visitors to the site “need to know the truth.”
“They want to know the reality of preservation. So instead of, for instance, covering up falling plaster with a plastic sheet, I’ve suggested we take the plastic sheet down, we interpret it, we show our visitors that these are the real effects that are happening on our building. And of course, it’s not just our building,” he says. “It’s really pushing the margins of where preservationists and museum thinkers are going, and climate change is happening to us, and these things need to be discussed.”
Hunter House has resiliency plan
Construction began for the Hunter House in 1748 and was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1968. It is located a few dozen feet away from Narragansett Bay and was the first home saved from being demolished by the Preservation Society of Newport County. The house played a significant role during America’s fight for freedom by sheltering some of our allies during the Revolutionary War. Now, curator Leslie Jones says the organization is trying to save the 18th-century landmark from succumbing to climate change.
The building’s subterranean cellar has been designed so water can flow through it. Jones said there has always been a hurricane plan for Hunter House. Now, it has expanded into a resiliency plan.
“Because it can happen at any time of the year, whether it’s flooding or high winds or any kind of moisture infiltration too,” Jones says. “I lead the efforts for the evacuation of Hunter House when necessary, and that’s a collaborative effort that is rehearsed. It is annually reviewed, and it’s essentially the process of moving things out of this house into a secure location.”
Putting the house on stilts or even moving it has been discussed, Jones says.
“There are many people in this neighborhood who are elevating their houses,” she says. “It’s certainly something that our consultants, engineers, and architects have advised could be a potential action for us to take on.”
At Rough Point, Vagnone has created a global initiative called, “Keeping History Above Water.” International conferences are held to explore how to balance preservation with rising tides. He also says action centers will soon occupy former bedrooms on the second floor to promote preservation through education.
“You have to ask yourself what the value and relevance of a historic site is to us today,” he says. “There are vessels through which you can teach contemporary issues.
“Climate change is something that we all have to pay attention to. Even in a rarefied house just like this. We have no choice on the matter; just look out the window.”
