Doug Gelbert

How Rhode Island Happened: A Story of the Ocean State in 100 Buildings Doug Gelbert

Imagine a group of settlers arriving in an undeveloped location. First come shelters in which to live and then structures in which to work and shop. There are buildings for worship and education. As the community grows government buildings are required. With prosperity comes places in which to spend leisure time. And each step along the way builds a story only Rhode Island can call its own.



That story is all around you in the work of those who came before you. In these pages you'll learn the explanations behind the quirks, the traditions and the secrets that make Rhode Island uniquely Rhode Island. The building invented in Rhode Islad that transformed the military? Solved. Where to find hockey-style side-by-side dugouts on a baseball field? Mystery solved. The oldest merry-go-round in America with horses suspended from chains? Identified. The clubhouse where players in golf's first U. S. Open changed their shoes? Revealed.



Clam cakes... Quonset huts...diners...summer stock theater...the CCC... Roger Williams...frozen lemonade...roadside architecture...the U. S. Open tennis Tournament... American chateaus... Triangle Trade...the Paw Sox...shore dinners... King Philip's War... This book will have you telling stories like a native in no time.



Almost all of the selections within are open to the public, or at least visible from public spaces. So, if you haven't seen these landmarks in person, fire up your GPS and get out and see the story of the Ocean State standing in plain sight on Rhode Island streets!