The Great Elephant Migration & Newport Cliff Walk

My August adventures were not limited to my five-day trip on Cape Cod. Towards the end of the month, I visited Newport, RI to hike the famous Cliff Walk and view The Great Elephant Migration art exhibit, which roamed through Newport from July 4 to September 2, 2024. Both walk and elephants were within the Newport Historic District, which was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1968. The day was bright and sunny but not to hot, a perfect time to get exercise and enjoy environmentally-focused sculpture.

The life-size elephants were made by artisans from Nilgiri Hills, Southern India and sponsored by women dedicated to environmentalism, creativity, storytelling, and philanthropy. Since elephant herds are matriarchal, which means the oldest female elephant is usually the leader, the project focused on a global collective of women contributors. However, its official website also included a “tusker” designation for men who assisted with the journey, comparing them to the strongest male elephants with long tusks.

One aspect that I appreciated about the exhibit was how each statue was unique with its own name and personality, much like real elephants. The herds will travel around the United States until July 2025, when they will go to their “forever homes”, likely a museum or private collection. Purchasing an elephant assists with their conservation, but their price was steep. The smallest calf was valued at $8,000, while the largest tuskers cost $28,000. The price is of no issue to wealthy art investors and institutions, as many elephants have already sold out.

As for the location of the elephants while the herds visited Newport, the statues appeared at Salve Regina University, Rough Point, and The Breakers, along with a lonely tusker at Great Friends Meeting House of Newport Historical Society. The mansion at Salve Regina is called Ochre Court and was donated to the university in 1947 by the Goelet. Back in 1892, multimillionaire Ogden Goelet had commissioned its construction, employing famous American architect Richard Morris Hunt, who last appeared on the blog as the designer of Marble House. This was among the last projects for both men, as Goelet died in 1897, and Hunt died in 1895. Today, this château is influential in the naming of Ochre Point-Cliffs Historic District, which joined the National Register in 1975.

I went inside the Rough Point mansion about fifteen years ago, so I only explored the grounds during this trip, as these were free to the public. The estate was formerly owned by philanthropist Doris Duke, and Duke University was named after her father, James Buchanan Duke, who died when she was twelve. This building was constructed by Boston-based architectural firm Peabody & Stearns for the Vanderbilt family in 1888, and it changed hands several times before its purchase by Duke. Peabody & Stearns were renowned among both the upper class and local governments, as they designed several structures previously appearing on the blog including Worcester City Hall Worcester, MA; Dorchester Heights Monument in Dorchester, MA; and Soldiers’ Memorial Library in Manchester, MA, along with its neighbor The Breakers. Rough Point is currently maintained by the Newport Restoration Foundation, last referenced in a talk during Day 2 of Historic New England Summit 2022.

My only gripe about this trip was The Breakers, which was added to the National Register in 1971. The property is currently owned by Newport Mansions: The Preservation Society of Newport County, which required a ticket to enter the grounds. I had previously visited The Breakers for a standard tour and a Christmas tour, and although this largest mansion in Newport has significant architectural appeal, plus my New England Museum Association (NEMA) membership would have allowed me and a guest to visit for free, I was miffed by the concept of going through this hassle when the other sites were free and open to the public for the event. Gripes aside, I still captured a beautiful shot of the elephants traipsing across The Breakers lawn by standing on the embankment of the Cliff Walk.

The Cliff Walk itself is of historical value. It was designated a National Recreation Trail in 1975 and runs for three-and-a-half miles between the mansions and the ocean. I walked the entire trail in one direction and took the road back to see more mansions, totalling a seven-and-a-half mile walk. Between its length and stretches of rocky terrain, this is not a trail for everyone. I have seen photographs of wealthy Victorians scrambling over the rocks in three-piece suits and corsets, but I advise travelers to wear comfortable walking shoes, if not hiking boots, and to take a bag containing a water bottle, sunscreen, a snack, and a fully charged cell phone. Do not let the urban presence of this path deceive you.

While traveling back on the road, I came across Stoneacre, the Frederick Law Olmsted Park. I had previously visited the landscape architect’s offices at Frederick Law Olmsted National Historic Site in 2022 and visited numerous parks designed by him, along with attending presentations referencing his work, but I had somehow missed this site. The Stoneacre mansion was built in 1884 but was demolished in 1963, and its land was turned into a park in 1998. The site is now owned by the National Museum of American Illustration, which has been closed for renovation for several years.

My favorite feature of this area was the Illustration Museum Clock, gifted by Giulio Cesare Carani of Rome, Italy to Judy Goffman Cutler and Laurence Cutler in 2009. The Cutlers were fundamental in founding the dormant museum, along with managing the currently open American Illustrators Gallery in New York City. As for the clock, it has a distinctive black and gold paint scheme with four large clock faces and sculpted lions heads at each of the four lower corners. Above each clock face is the name of the street, simultaneously telling the passers-by the time and location.

For the avid walker, environmentalist, art aficionado, and historian, this was a perfect start to the day. The plentiful signage around Newport prevented me from getting lost, and the number of new sights throughout the trip stopped any potential boredom that can come with long walks. Parking at a four-hour-limit meter on Narragansett Avenue was fairly inexpensive at $2 per hour, and I found the Passport Parking mobile app to be straightforward. As an added bonus, public restrooms are available on this street, although the lines grow long in the middle of the day. Even with the elephant herd moved on to other states, plenty of activities are always available in Newport, and the trip is well worth your time.