Newport Preservationist Honored with Rhody Award

NEWPORT, RI—Back in the 1960's, a college classmate persuaded Robert F. Foley to take a trip to Newport and explore some old houses.

It turned into a life-changing kind of trip.

Ultimately, he moved here and became part of a budding preservation movement, which he helped nurture, first through Operation Clapboard and then with the Newport Restoration Foundation. Since 2000, he served as the foundation's Director of Preservation, only retiring earlier this year.

On Oct. 16, he will collect another distinction. Foley's now one of 11 new Rhody Award winners for 2016. He will receive the Frederick C. Williamson Award for Professional Leadership, according to Preserve Rhode Island and the R.I. Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission.

According to Sarah Zurier, of RIHPHC, and Morgan Devlin, of Preserve RI, he was chosen for playing "an enduring role in Newport's historic preservation scene."

They also said "with his unassuming demeanor, Robert’s preservation work has often taken place behind the scenes – or behind the camera. But everyone who cares about Newport’s historic character is a beneficiary of his knowledge, skill and dedication."

Foley, who was studying 18th-century New England architecture at Marlboro College in Vermont when his friend talked him into a Newport excursion, found a gold mine of old houses in the City by the Sea. When he spotted the Peter Simon House on Bridge Street, he made a promise to buy that house and restore it someday.

The Peter Simon House went up for sale in 1964, and Foley followed through on his vow.

Foley moved to Newport and joined the preservation movement.

"He was an active member of Operation Clapboard, a group that matched historic homes with restoration-minded buyers," according to Zurier and Devlin. "Robert oversaw carpenters working at Operation Clapboard properties, applying his expertise in 18th-century construction methods to the practical work of fixing up old relics. As Operation Clapboard’s work was winding down, another organization was getting started: the Newport Restoration Foundation, established by Doris Duke in 1968."

This time, he came on board to take pictures.

"Robert took an astonishing 20,000 images, a remarkable record of the NRF’s early history and an invaluable resource for scholars of colonial-era American architecture," they said. He documented the entire restoration of the 18th-century houses, which Duke took over.

Tickets for the Rhode Island Preservation Celebration and Rhody Awards event cost $40 before October 12 or $45 at the door.