EDITORIAL: The Perfect Location for RI’s Museum
Monday, October 04, 2021
For more than 30 years, the Gateway Center at the foot of the Rhode Island State House has been a fledgling office building, marked by bankruptcy and numerous sales.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTToday, the building is up for sale again. It has been underutilized as an office building with just 43% occupancy.
The location, adjacent to the Amtrak Station in Providence, is perfect for visitors.
Rhode Island, the first colony to declare independence on May 4, 1776, has an amazing history - religious freedom, the burning of the Gaspee, and the Industrial Revolution.
This is the perfect location for a Rhode Island museum. Rhode Island has so much history and future and no museum.
Yes, there was a failed attempt in the past -- it was a silly proposal of a hodge-podge of micro special interests.
The Gateway Center is a short walking distance to Waterplace Park, Providence Place Mall, and the Convention Center.
A museum there could house the amazing artifacts, music, videos of Rhode Island -- an interactive dynamo.
It could tell the story of the state's greatest successes and its darkest legacies.
It would be the opportunity to tell the story of Rhode Island, which is, de facto, America’s history.
King Phillip’s War, America’s Cup, Rhode Island’s role in the slave trade, and the Gilded Age.
Heck, Rhode Island knew the 1% before just about anyone else.
The museum could bring to life stories of Tarzan Brown, Gilbert Stuart, Edward Bannister, or H.P. Lovecraft -- stories of lauded and unsung heroes -- and the nefarious.
An exhibit could feature the cool toys developed at Hasbro. And another (maybe a whole wing) could tell the stores of the most state's most notorious residents. Who wouldn't want to see the holograms of Buddy Cianci, Raymond Patriarca, and pirate Thomas Tew? It would be a fan favorite.
While the Rhode Island School of Design has a wonderful art museum, only a tiny fraction of its collection features Rhode Islanders.
We want to see the art of Rhode Islanders, TV and movie clips of Viola Davis, the Farrelly brothers or a Cheers episode featuring Nicholas Colasanto.
Who wouldn't want to hear the music from the Newport Jazz, Bob Dylan being booed when he broke out an electric guitar for the first time at the Folk Festival, or hear the soulful sounds of Jeffrey Osborne?
Rhode Island is brim with pivotal moments -- inventions and history-makers that changed the country and the world.
We now have more than a billion dollars to spend to improve Rhode Island — a small portion for rebuilding our self-confidence would be well worth it.
Related Articles
- The 50 Greatest Living Rhode Islanders - 2020 Version
- Fox Scandal: First Time State House Raided in RI History
- LIVE: RI History Expert McBurney Publishes New Book “World War II Rhode Island”
- Greatest Athletes In Rhode Island History: East Bay
- Greatest Athletes In Rhode Island History: Metro Prov
- Greatest Athletes In Rhode Island History: Blackstone Valley
- Greatest Athletes In Rhode Island History: South County
- Greatest Athletes In Rhode Island History: Aquidneck
- Greatest Athletes In Rhode Island History: West Bay
- EDITORIAL: McKee’s Vaccine Strategy, Status Quo, and Providence Simply Is Not Safe
- WSJ Editorial Chides Whitehouse
- EDITORIAL: Time for Gorbea to Answer Questions About Non-Secure Email Election Voting
- EDITORIAL: Frustrated Mayor Lashes Out (Over His Failures)
- EDITORIAL: Bring RI State Police to Providence to Take on ATVs
- EDITORIAL: Dan McKee is Going Where No Governor Has Ever Gone Before - Leadership on Schools
- EDITORIAL: Dear Graduates of Providence Public Schools, We Owe You a Few Apologies
- EDITORIAL: Response to Providence Shooting: Silly Tweets and, Oh Yes, Accountability
- EDITORIAL: Hiring Peters and Alege Was a Mistake, Fixing Providence Schools Is an Emergency
- EDITORIAL: Time to End a Corporate Payoff in RI That Costs Taxpayers Millions
- EDITORIAL: This Photo Says Everything You Need to Know About Providence’s Leadership
- EDITORIAL: Activities Proving to Be Dangerous in Providence for Residents and Visitors
- EDITORIAL: Is This Woman the Most Irresponsible Politician in Rhode Island?
- EDITORIAL: Now There Are 2, Will There Be 3, 4 or 5 Democrats Running for Governor?
- EDITORIAL: One RI Business Leader Stands Up and Fights to Restore the Economy
- EDITORIAL: Jorge Elorza — The Missed Opportunity of the Past Seven Years
- EDITORIAL: Smiley Is Deeply Experienced…at Ethical Lapses
- EDITORIAL: Shooting, Murder, Shooting - Here’s What RI’s Top Elected Officials Said
- Retired Editorial Assistant at Kent County Times, Hazel M. Medeiros, Dies at 92
- EDITORIAL: Here Are RI’s Legislators That Are Anti-Business and Want Pandemic to Continue
- EDITORIAL: RI Department of Health COVID Management Failure
- EDITORIAL: Big Questions About Cumberland Cronyism
- EDITORIAL: If RI Funds Superman Building Reset, Taxpayers Should Be Partners
- EDITORIAL: Silence Is Deadly - 35 Murders in Providence in Past 15 Months
- EDITORIAL: The Perfect Location for RI’s Museum