Newport This Week

this week’s Conversation with Frank Vagone



“Frankie” Vagnone brings his passion for preservation to his new role at the Newport Restoration Foundation. (Photo by Lynne Tungett)

“Frankie” Vagnone brings his passion for preservation to his new role at the Newport Restoration Foundation. (Photo by Lynne Tungett)

Franklin “Frankie” Vagnone’s awareness of historic homes began as a child. He recalls picketing the demolition of a building when he was 13. Today, he is an architectural designer, sculptor and a public historian. He was the recipient of the 2020 American Institute of Architects Advocacy Award. His professional dossier includes for-profit and nonprofit work.

Until this spring, Vagnone was president of the Old Salem Museum and Gardens. He is now president of the Newport Restoration Foundation, leading a nonprofit organization that preserves, maintains and interprets Aquidneck Island’s 18thand early 19th-century architectural heritage. In July, he began working from an office at Rough Point, one of three museum properties that the foundation operates. He says the NRF board is invested in innovation and change, and he looks forward to engaging the community in a much broader context.

He and his husband, Johnny, are living in an NRF home with their daughter, Claire, grandson, Jackson, and dog, Yogi. You were selected after a national search. Tell us about your work experience. I’m fascinated with how historic preservation and heritage sites work. I have experience in very hands-on jobs, like construction, and I have helped shape the strategic initiatives of large organizations. Through all of this, my focus has always been on preservation at the local-level … and making sure that remains intact.

You live in an NRF home that is going to serve as a pilot site for innovative preservation initiatives. Can you tell us about them?

Our goal in establishing a “NRF President’s House” was to allow us to experience what NRF tenants are experiencing, as well as placing us in the center of Newport. One goal is to use it as a testing ground for our “Keeping History Above Water” initiative, and our climate change/environmental sustainability initiative for historic buildings. We are going to look into the carbon footprint of the house, and explore new technologies that can move preservation forward, all while addressing real and urgent climate needs.

How many of the 70 NRF houses have you visited? We take our grandson on strolls through Newport, and we have made a point to visit the NRF houses. Besides my family visits, I’ve been in the field visiting NRF’s paint and carpentry crews at sites around town to learn about their craft. They spent a great deal of time working this summer at the Hathaway Macomber House (57 Thames St.) and the Thornton-Wilder House (53-55 Thames St.).

We’ve heard that NRF houses are haunted. Is this true? I haven’t heard any local ghost stories yet.

Why did you decide to have your office at Rough Point, besides that spectacular view? Ha! Well, I realized that NRF was divided into several different missions, and I wanted to unify them and help us work towards a common goal. Eventually, NRF’s offices will all be at Rough Point. Interestingly, that is exactly what Doris Duke wanted in her will. We will be a much more efficient and responsive organization under one roof.

Where is your favorite place in Rough Point to stand or sit and muse about Duke and NRF’s future? Without a doubt, it would be the bench looking out over the ocean. And, the most compelling spot to think about NRF’s future is the city itself. When I walk around Newport, I can clearly see how integrated the NRF houses are to the very livability and experience of our daily lives. I definitely see NRF as making more of a difference year-round for locals, rather than only for seasonal tourists.

What do you and your family like to do in Newport? We love strolling through neighborhoods and cemeteries. We enjoy meeting people. So far, our favorite spot to eat is Pour Judgement.

You’re working on developing a wider, more deeply imagined community-based mission for

NRF. What elements do you envision this including? NRF has the potential to address real community needs by utilizing our assets in new ways. This will be done through our preservation properties stewardship program, public programs at Rough Point and Vernon House. I think we have to listen to the community and ask what is needed, and to see the ways we can fill those needs.

What communities have been left out of NRF’s history? What are you doing to include their stories? Most history sites and historic houses were saved during a period prior to and immediately following the U.S. bicentennial. It makes sense that colonial history of the founders and leaders would be a priority, but we must broaden our awareness of people who built, lived in and shaped Newport. It was not just the wealthy leaders, but everyone played a part in

the larger organism of Newport; women, immigrants, craftspeople, enslaved, indigenous. We hope to continue collaborations with community organizations and to form new partnerships through our “Telling Stories” initiative. We will research the long histories of NRF’s houses to include all levels of the inhabitants’ narratives. We are interested in not only the colonial histories, including the stories of the enslaved, but also later histories, when the houses were used as boarding houses, multi-family homes, restaurants, shops, taverns, etc.

You’ve said that visitors appreciate conflicting narratives because it makes them think more deeply. What conflicting narratives do you see presenting at NRF? Each one of our historic houses have complicated histories, including Rough Point, as does Doris Duke herself. She was a complicated person; living a life that in some ways had been handed to her, but she also was able to have agency over her life and the narratives about her. She was privileged, of course, but her life reflected a very human experience full of loss and joys, disappointments and successes, and meaningful and complicated relationships. This is the real history of Newport and the real history of all of us.

What has most surprised or delighted you about Newport? I love the village size of Newport, and I love it when we see a uniquely eccentric Newport resident simply being themselves. That level of honesty and realness is delightful.

What’s the funniest camel story you’ve heard? I’m not sure about funny, but I’ve heard some poignant ones. In 1991, during Hurricane Bob, caretakers brought the camels, Princess and Baby, inside Rough Point’s solarium for protection. I’ve found out how much Doris Duke loved all types of animals. In some ways, I think she trusted them more than people and could share love with them more freely.

One response to “this week’s Conversation with Frank Vagone”

  1. Mike and I just visited Newport again, enjoying the sites and sounds of this historical destination.
    Johnny was a guest of our Airbnb in New Bern NC. I’ve been following his adventures. We also had a ghost tour in a New Bern cemetery where
    Historical figures were portrayed in period garb and explained their purpose in life, and also a story of their rise and then their demise. It was quite interesting! While in Newport we did the trolley tour and also sailed on the tall ship, the Aquidneck. Some important facts were learned.
    Perhaps walking historical figures would enhance childrens interest in Newports history, or a venue of puppetry! Love Newport!

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