Narragansett: Surf Coast of South County
Narragansett occupies the southwestern edge of Narragansett Bay at the entrance to Block Island Sound. Point Judith, at the southern tip, is marked by a lighthouse first built in 1810 and rebuilt to its current form in 1857. The U.S. Coast Guard Station Point Judith operates on the same point and serves as the departure for ferries to Block Island.
The Narragansett Pier area, the commercial and residential center of town, retains the granite towers of the former Narragansett Pier Casino (1883), designed by McKim, Mead and White. The main hotel burned in 1900 but the stone arches of the Towers remain as a landmark and host events and a town information center. Narragansett developed as a resort community in the late nineteenth century before declining with the rise of other shore destinations.
The University of Rhode Island's Graduate School of Oceanography operates at the Bay Campus in Narragansett, with research vessels operating from its docks in the protected Narragansett Bay. The town beach in front of the Towers, and Scarborough State Beach to the north, draw summer visitors from across Rhode Island. Narragansett has a population of about 16,000, with significant seasonal variation tied to tourism and URI.
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Narragansett occupies the southwestern edge of Narragansett Bay at the entrance to Block Island Sound. Point Judith, at the southern tip, is marked by a lighthouse first built in 1810 and rebuilt to its current form in 1857. The U.S. Coast Guard Station Point Judith operates on the same point and serves as the departure for ferries to Block Island.
The Narragansett Pier area, the commercial and residential center of town, retains the granite towers of the former Narragansett Pier Casino (1883), designed by McKim, Mead and White. The main hotel burned in 1900 but the stone arches of the Towers remain as a landmark and host events and a town information center. Narragansett developed as a resort community in the late nineteenth century before declining with the rise of other shore destinations.
The University of Rhode Island's Graduate School of Oceanography operates at the Bay Campus in Narragansett, with research vessels operating from its docks in the protected Narragansett Bay. The town beach in front of the Towers, and Scarborough State Beach to the north, draw summer visitors from across Rhode Island. Narragansett has a population of about 16,000, with significant seasonal variation tied to tourism and URI.
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