Rhode Island (Regional Photos)

Description

Tucked into a corner of New England, Rhode Island is one of the region’s best-kept secrets. Out-of-staters think of it as Providence, Newport, and little else. Photographer Richard Benjamin knows better. His Rhode Island is a four-part scenic tour of the state beginning and ending in the capital:

"Providence" focuses on the historic home of Roger Williams and Brown University, from the colonial-era First Baptist Church to the Rhode Island State House, which boasts the second largest unsupported dome in the world after that of St. Peter’s in Rome.

"Along the Coast" makes it clear why Rhode Island is known as the Ocean State. Benjamin moves from the Port of Providence through the East Bay area, to Little Compton, and over Newport to the mainland coast.

"Back Roads" is an eye-opener, with scenes that could as easily be found in Vermont or Maine—from the Hope Valley Pub in Hopkinton to a one-room schoolhouse in Exeter, from the Coventry home of Revolutionary War general Nathaniel Greene to a covered bridge (the state’s only), and on to the mill towns north of the capital.

"Renaissance" returns to Providence. Once described by the Wall Street Journal as "a smudge on the road from New York to Cape Cod," the capital has undergone an amazing revival since the early 1990s. Benjamin takes a gondola ride to view the most visible signs of the city’s rebirth—the Riverwalk, Waterplace Park, and the spectacular WaterFires, which have brought young and old back to Providence and all it has to offer.

The foreword by Phyllis Meras, formerly of the Providence Journal, places Benjamin’s images in historic context.

Reviews

Rating: 5 / 5
Date: 2009-09-11
Summary: "Great Coffee Table Book!"

The illustrations are colorful & the book is nicely written. I purchased for a couple who has a beach house in Rhode Island and THEY love it.