Maya Lin’s “Meeting Room” to be Unveiled at Queen Anne Square Friday

On Friday the fences come down and the bulldozers will clear out at unveiling the art installation and tribute to Newport's historic roots. 

Two years in the making, the art installation designed by world-renowned architect Maya Lin pays tribute to Doris Duke, the pioneer of the city's historic preservation efforts. 

Gov. Lincoln Chafee will join local officials, preservation enthusiasts and local residents for a dedication ceremony at the park at 10 a.m. on Friday, May 31 to help celebrate the grand re-opening of the park at Queen Anne Square.

Lin's design is intended to emphasize the effect of historic preservation as a catalyst for community revitalization.

"My interest in time, memory and history originally drew me to learn about the rich history of this area and discover the structures that once existed at this site," said Lin about her design choice. "To be able to create a landscape that reveals the historic aspect of Queen Anne Square in which these physical structures, some of which have stood here for 300 years, hold the history of the people who lived and worked there through time, is an important aspect to me and the project. The design is about sharing these spaces with the public."

Dubbed The Meeting Room, the design features a collection of three stone structures that give nod to the foundations of New England's centuries-old homes and buildings that can still be found crumbling in the woods across the region. The foundations were constructed using stone from Aquidneck island that was harvested from such sites.

The $3.5 million project was paid for solely with private funds from the Doris Duke Memorial Foundation. Members wanted the the installation to honor Duke's legacy and embody her life's passion for protecting Newport's architectural history. Duke founded the Newport Restoration Foundation (NRF) in 1968 to preserve the city’s 18th century buildings.  

"The foundations are created from reclaimed stones that were once part of historic homes," writes Maya Lin about her inspiration for the design. "In doing so, we are building foundations that represent home, family and community through history. I imagine it to be a place where people gather together and also can reflect upon how Doris Duke helped preserve so many of these significant historic houses."

The DDMF chose Queen Anne Square as the home for the Meeting Room because the park was cleared and donated by Duke in the 1970s and represents one of her most significant public works contributions to Newport.

Created between 1976 and 1978, Queen Anne Square was a collaboration between Doris Duke and Trinity Church to create a town green in what had become a dilapidated and congested retail, commercial and warehouse area.