Rocky Point Renewal

The Arch and the Skyliner’s towers are some of the last remnants of the park. Photo by Meaghan Smith

After its closure in 1995, Rocky Point sat derelict at the edge of Warwick Neck, the rusting rides the only sign of its former summer glory. For more than a decade, the Small Business Administration — which took over the park after its bankruptcy — unsuccessfully marketed the land for residential development. In 2008, the city of Warwick, using a combination of local, state and federal funds, purchased a mile of land along the water for $4.4 million, opening it up to public access once again. That’s when the locals stepped in.

“I wrote an editorial saying we ought to save the full park,” recalls John Howell, Warwick resident and former longtime publisher of the Warwick Beacon. “What surprised me then was the response that I got — so many people saying, ‘What a great idea, you should do it.’ I didn’t know at that point what it would cost.”

Howell, along with lawyer George Shuster Jr. and other local residents, spearheaded the founding of the Rocky Point Foundation to lobby for the park. In 2010, they successfully added a $10 million bond to the November ballot for the state to purchase the parcel. Voters overwhelmingly approved it, and four years later, the property reopened in its entirety for the first time in two decades as
a 120-acre public park.

Today, the foundation continues to advocate for its preservation and improvement, while the state and city maintain the property. Park fans can even purchase a Rocky Point charity plate featuring the famous white arch.

“It just seemed like it was an opportunity to save a beautiful location appreciated by so many people,” Howell says. “There’s that real sort of attachment, affection, for this piece of land and for the memories it brings to people.”