Bailey's Beach Newport Rhode Island RI USA

Bailey's Beach (officially named as and owned by the Spouting Rock Beach Association) is a private beach and club in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

, United States.

History

According to the ''Providence Journal'', Bailey's Beach in Newport Rhode Island was:

founded in the 1890s after new trolley service gave mill workers from Fall River ready access to Easton's Beach, a wide expanse closer to downtown Newport that the well-to-do had claimed as their own. Not wishing to associate with people who took their lunches in buckets, high society relocated several miles to Spouting Rock, smaller and often seaweedy but safely beyond the reach of trolleys. Today, approximately 500 families belong, and for the most part, new members are added only when old ones die.

According to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'':

Spouting Rock Beach Association, named for a geological formation, and membership in it tends to define summer life here in ways that are sometimes difficult to comprehend, even for insiders.

The organization has attracted notable members of nearby families such as the

Vanderbilt family The Vanderbilt family is an American family who gained prominence during the Gilded Age. Their success began with the shipping and railroad empires of Cornelius Vanderbilt, and the family expanded into various other areas of industry and philanthr ...

Astor family The Astor family achieved prominence in business, society, and politics in the United States and the United Kingdom during the 19th and 20th centuries. With ancestral roots in the Italian Alps region of Italy by way of Germany, the Astors settled ...

, and

Sheldon Whitehouse Sheldon Whitehouse (born October 20, 1955) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from Rhode Island since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States Attorney from 1993 to 1998 ...

. The 1938 Hurricane destroyed the original

clubhouse Clubhouse may refer to: Locations * The meetinghouse of: ** A club (organization), an association of two or more people united by a common interest or goal ** In the United States, a country club ** In the United Kingdom, a gentlemen's club * A ...

, and the current clubhouse and cabanas appear relatively modest to passersby. Bailey's Beach was one of the centers of elite Newport social life along with other institutions such as the Redwood Library,

Newport Country Club Newport Country Club, is a historic private golf club in the northeastern United States, located in Newport, Rhode Island. Founded in 1893, it hosted both the first U.S. Amateur Championship and the first U.S. Open in 1895. History Theodore H ...

, Trinity Church, Clambake Club, Newport Reading Room,

New York Yacht Club The New York Yacht Club (NYYC) is a private social club and yacht club based in New York City and Newport, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1844 by nine prominent sportsmen. The members have contributed to the sport of yachting and yacht design. ...

summer clubhouse and the

Newport Casino The Newport Casino is an athletic complex and recreation center located at 180-200 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island in the Bellevue Avenue/Casino Historic District. Built in 1879–1881 by '' New York Herald'' publisher James Gordo ...

Membership diversity

Local reporters have criticized Bailey's Beach for its alleged all-white membership, saying it lacked diversity. ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print magazine in 1933, it was widely ...

'' magazine described it as an "elite all-white beach club" in its June 21, 2021, issue. Jack Nolan, the general manager of the beach club, denied the report, telling ''

The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

'' two days later that members of the club and their families include people of "many racial, religious, and ethnic backgrounds from around the world who come to Newport every summer." Questioned about his family's membership, Sen.

(D-RI) defended the club as "a long tradition in Rhode Island". Whitehouse also told the ''Globe'' he was not a member of the beach club, but his wife has been a member of the club for decades, and is currently one of the club’s largest shareholders. He stated that the club has "no discriminatory policy," and it has members who are

people of color The term "person of color" ( : people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is primarily used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is primarily associated with, the U ...

. Despite the exclusive status of the beach club and membership, the northeast end of the beach is open to the public and known colloquially as Rejects' Beach (or Reject's Beach or Rejects Beach).

References

External links

Cliff Walk Website
{{Newport, Rhode Island Beaches of Rhode Island Buildings and structures in Newport, Rhode Island Landforms of Newport County, Rhode Island Geography of Newport, Rhode Island Clubs and societies in the United States

History

Membership diversity

See also

References

External links