To Preserve & Restore
With the creation of the Newport Restoration Foundation, Doris Duke continued a long tradition of women as “keepers” and preservationists of cultural heritage. She also profoundly shaped the cityscape of Newport and the preservation work of NRF impacts the way people live in, work in, and enjoy the city today.
The Newport Preservation Center at Rough Point will be a research center and exhibition space that helps tell the story of the city’s preservation efforts and how this complex, multi-faceted history fits into a national context. The center will focus on a core idea, that contemporary preservation is not only a treatment of buildings and objects, but a process of engagement with communities.
“As a resident of Newport for many years, I have always taken pride in this unique and beautiful place, not only for its beauty but also for its historical heritage. Because of my interests, I have formed the Newport Restoration Foundation to preserve and restore the 18th-century buildings for future generations.” – Doris Duke, 1969
The Newport Preservation Center will be a space to explore the legacy of Doris Duke’s impulse to “preserve and restore” the city of Newport and to work towards the future of preservation. The story of Newport’s preservation is vital to the way we think about the city and its communities today. By interpreting the history of the efforts to save the historic fabric of the city, the Newport Preservation Center brings attention to the strong tradition of preservation that continues in Newport today.
