The Ocean House, R.I.

[lindaz]

I really hope I haven't put this in the wrong area of the forums -

We used to vacation at the Ocean House hotel at Watch Hill, Rhode Island for many years, a week every summer.  It's very, very  beloved to us.  We now understand that it changed hands, stood empty/closed a short time and has now been either demolished or partially demolished; can't seem to get a clear story on it.

Does anyone here know the actual status of it, or is it completely gone? 

Has anyone ever explored it during the winters when it was shut down annually, or while it was closed after changing hands?  I would love to hear any stories, and/or to hear its current fate.  The place meant a lot to us.

Many thanks.

[Cavanaugh Park]

The name doesn't ring a bell, but from knowing the area vaguely...logically it doesn't make sense that someone would leave that place abandoned for very long, or leave something only partially demolished. Watch Hill = prime real estate, or at least that's always been my understanding.

Hope you hear of something more constructive than that^.

[Megster]

The Ocean House is one of Watch Hill's biggest landmarks, if not the biggest.  Considering the fact it survived the Hurricane of 1938, I highly doubt it would be demolished just because it's a historical building, and there would be a huge movement to fight its demolition.

During last summer, I worked extensively in the Watch Hill/Westerly/Pawcatuck/Stonington and didn't notice a difference in the activity around it.  If I'm in the area any time soon I'll post an update, but now you have me worried.  lol  Fort Mansfield is right there on the beach, so maybe in a month or so when it starts warming up, I'll head down there.

Send a PM to Moving Unit, he'll probably be able to give you an idea seeing as he lives a bit closer to it than I do.  (I say send a PM because I haven't seen him on the boards in months, and maybe he'll get a notice in his email).

[lindaz]

Thanks for the replies.  I hope we can find out more.  The demolition news came from a very brief CT local t.v. news clip about 2-3  months ago.  It flitted past before I could grasp the whole story.  They showed a quick portion of the front either painted or wrapped in white stuff and I heard the words "to contain lead during demolition . . ." 

I thought I was hallucinating.  I hope I was.

Then I did google for it but could find nothing current at all.  The news station's site had only the briefest "slated for demolition" blurb.

I so hope this is not true, or at least that someone here will know the real story.  The last we'd heard before all this was that it was going to be restored and continue its life as a hotel, so this is very upsetting if true.

My question about exploration stories when it was closed, I mostly meant during the winters - they closed annually from September - June, just wondered if anyone had ever explored it during those closed months each year.  The only other closed time, as we understand it, was for last summer when it either was changing hands or just had.  We don't even know if that's right though.

Naturally I explored it pretty thoroughly while staying there but the topmost two floors were closed up tight and unused, couldn't get up or in there at all.  Fabulous place.  They had a fantastic old bar, 1940s era, with a big wooden dance floor, always had good bands end of the week and on weekends.  All the old writing desks, from the time when people actually wrote real letters, were still there in and off the huge lobby.  Art deco furniture - I don't think anything there was newer than the 1930s for furnishings.  You could smell the sea in the fabric, the rugs, the upholstery.  Big windows left wide open all season, in all weathers, no screens, no bugs naturally because of the sea breeze.  Primo real estate indeed, Ocean House sits up high on a bit of grassy bluff over the best piece of beach in the world.

It's the last of the old big wooden hotels out there, I believe there were nine at one time, all fallen to fire or hurricane.

[lindaz]

here is a nice shot of it. 


http://www.nationaltrust.org/magazine/_images/news/oceanhouse.jpg

[Cavanaugh Park]

Oh shit. Hahaha. THAT's the name of it?

I know which building you're talking about, but last time I was in the area was last summer so...

[Dakiel]

http://www.thewesterlysun.com/articles/2005/04/17/news/news3.txt

[Megster]

Wow, for being closed so long, you'd never know it.

[lindaz]

Thank you for all the replies, and the Westerly article.  I just came across this - includes some nice anecdotes and reminiscences from people who spent time there.


http://www.artinruins.com/arch/stillinuse/oceanhouse/


so I'm still slightly confused, dang.  I'll just have to take a trip down there, see for myself and ask around locally.  I haven't wanted to drive down and look because it would be way too much to see it gone or even partially demolished.  Many memories there, wonderful place. 

It was run very casually, too, in a manner one would never see today in an ordinary or new hotel.  You could go down to the service entrance in the back by the kitchens and feed all the kitties who were allowed to live down there for mousing, lots of kitties always.  You could wander anywhere you wanted, except for the two closed top floors.  Staff was always mellow, nothing was what one could call off-limits, very free and easy.  Unusually friendly and restful atmosphere.

The old Victorian times were always in the air, you could easily imagine people of that day enjoying themselves.  It never felt ghostly, but relaxed.  Yet you were quite aware of past spirits there.

It was a bit of a firetrap - I see in the article the mention of a fire, that must have been relatively recently.  The last time we stayed there was 3 years ago, not so long ago.  Whenever we checked in we'd always reach out our room window and give the fire escape a good hard test shake to make sure it would hold us if we ever needed it, lol.

Time to bite the bullet and just go see how it's doing.   Thank you again for your help.

[CarbonCavi]

hehe im local there, i live in pawcatuck ct, but the ocean house is hum maybe 10 mins away, what does anyone want to know? its is being demolished, but rebuilt in its existing looks/demensions only with completely modern materials ( energy effieciencys etc ) they just actually had an auction of all the internals chairs desks lamps etc to help fund the project this was probably this past fall that happened. i can go down there and take some pictures today actually, its not bad out i think i might. if anyone wants to meet somewhere around the SE CT arear ill be glad to take them there.

[Megster]

I was in Watch Hill this weekend, you're all right, it's completely gone.

...which pisses me off a lot.

[CarbonCavi]

yep. another landmark gone. even if they rebuilt it to an inch of what it was its not the same