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Doris Duke's Passion for Preservation Saved Newport
January 13, 2010 View more Press Releases
(Newport, RI) When Doris Duke inherited Rough Point, her family's Newport summer home, she began a love affair with the City by the Sea. Over the course of nearly 40 years, she dedicated herself to saving over 80 historic homes throughout the city. In 2010, Doris Duke's Rough Point mansion will host an exhibition exploring how her passion for preservation led to the restoration of Colonial houses which are at the heart of Newport's historic neighborhoods. Discover Newport's rags to riches story in "Doris Duke's Extraordinary Vision: Saving 18th Century Newport" which opens on April 8, 2010.
Displayed in two galleries at Rough Point, the exhibit explores the rescue of Newport and Doris Duke as the guiding force behind it. In addition to her tremendous financial contributions, Doris Duke took an engaged, hands-on approach to preservation. She was known for personally selecting paint colors for the houses and helping to locate trees in Queen Anne Square. The exhibit includes audio clips from oral histories about Doris Duke and a full-scale model of a house section, detailing its construction techniques.
"Doris Duke's Extraordinary Vision: Saving 18th Century Newport" will be on exhibit until November 2010. Tours are offered Thursday-Saturday from 10:00-2:00, April 8 - May 8. Between May 11 and November 6, tours are offered Tuesday-Saturday from 9:45-3:45. The exhibit is included with the full house tour. Tickets cost $25. Children 12 and younger are admitted for free. Visitors will have an opportunity to tour just the exhibit during a special monthly 'gallery night.' For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.newportrestoration.org.
Founded by Doris Duke in 1968, the Newport Restoration Foundation (NRF) was charged with rescuing Newport's dilapidated homes, many of which were at risk of being demolished. Since its founding, it has restored or preserved 83 buildings. Today, NRF owns 82 historic structures with 70 lived in by individual tenant-stewards. NRF maintains the homes with a full time crew of carpenters and painters and even has its own mill for woodworking. The foundation continues to be actively engaged in historic preservation, educational efforts, and scholarly research.
Rough Point was willed to the Newport Restoration Foundation by Doris Duke upon her death in 1993, complete with all of its contents. It was her express wish that it be opened to the public as a house museum. Founded by Miss Duke in 1968, the Newport Restoration Foundation, a non-profit institution, was formed with the express purpose of preserving, interpreting, and maintaining landscape and objects reflecting Aquidneck Island's 18th and 19th century architectural culture.
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