Newport City Renaissance Corporation 194 Main Street, Suite 208 Newport, Vermont 05855 Tel: 802-323-1056 Web: www.discovernewportvt.com Special Thanks Thank you for generous contributions to Newport RUDAT | Building a New Newport and commitment to the Newport City Renaissance Corporation Adrien Yellow Lago Trattoria Poulin Grain AIA Vermont Laura & Mike St Onge Poulin Lumber American Institute of Architects (AIA) Lynda Chaffee Ray Pronto Antonio Pomerleau Maple Grove Farms of Vermont RJs Friendly Market Art Department, North Country Union High School Mark Linton Ron Paula Bob Dunn Mark Stewart Sanville Sound Systems, Inc Bob White Memphremagog Press Spates the Florist Boulangerie Owl’s Bread Memphremagog Rentals State of Vermont Building Trades, North Country Career Center Montgomery Café Steve Mayo CADD, North Country Career Center Mulkin Corporation Tech Crew, North Country Union High School Charlie Drown NEK-TV The Barton Chronicle Chittenden Bank Newport City Elementary School The Boathouse Grille Community National Bank Newport City Motel & Suites The Brown Cow Computer Arts & Animation, North Country Career Center Newport City Police Department The City of Newport Country Cobblier Newport City Public Works Department The Dancing Sail Culinary Arts, North Country Career Center Newport City Recreation Department The East Side Restaurant Derby Village Store Newport City Zoning Department The Front Desk Desrochers Excavation Newport Daily Express Tim Kavanagh Don Brown Newport Natural Foods TJ Boyle Associates LLC Don Whipple Newport Rotary Club Vermont Department of Housing & Community Affairs Florence & Joe Torter North Country Career Center Vermont Heritage Spring Water Francis Azur North Country Hospital Vermont Highland Cattle Company Gilman Housing Trust North Country Supervisory Union Vermont North Country Chamber of Commerce Goodrich Memorial Library North Country Union High School Wild Branch Solutions, Inc Green Industry Technologies, North Country Career Center Northeast Kingdom Tamarack, Inc (NEKTI) Your Name Here Embroidery Harry Hunt Architects Northeast Kingdom Travel & Tourism Association Hayes Ford Northeastern Vermont Development Association Hoagies Pizza & Pasta Offi ce Systems of Vermont, Inc Jackie & Ken Young Passumpsic Savings Bank Jay Peak Resort Paul Daniels Jim McKimm Pauline & Jacques Couture John Monette Phyllis & Milton Hammond Karl Wursthorn Pick & Shovel Page 1 Table of Contents Main Street Newport Introduction Community Context History Housing Economic Development Tourism Downtown & Historic Preservation Natural Environment & Community Open Space Civic Health Vision of the City Acknowledgements Page 2 Introduction March 23, 2009 To the Good Citizens of Newport: To create a durable vision plan for Newport, this special- proposed in your community. ly assembled AIA R/UDAT panel of specialists listened to citizens with many varied interests over two full days It is important to emphasize that this vision plan is only of input in several different forums. In inviting a national as durable as the collective community memory, and it is American Institute of Architects Regional / Urban Design our team’s hope that elected offi cials, planning commis- Assistance Team (R/UDAT) to your community, you have sion members, R/UDAT steering committee members, embarked on an historic event that will resonate in your and involved citizens will invoke the spirit and memory of community for years to come. We have blended citizen this community planning effort when individual develop- concerns with national quality expertise in town plan- ment proposals are reviewed, discussed, and adopted. ning, landscape architecture, and architecture to present short-term and futuristic recommendations. It has been a thrill to be so welcomed and loved by so many residents of Newport, and I look forward to visiting Crafting a durable vision for your community is demand- you again in the future as your vision of an even more ing and diffi cult work. Our ambitious plan is just the livable community is realized. There can be no more beginning of the hard work yet to be done. Consensus noble undertaking that to leave your children a town that and harmony for all interests at all times for all situations builds solid economic development, fosters community is impossible. However, you are blessed with community spirit, and celebrates urban quality. and cultural underpinnings that are well rooted in a col- lective spirit of altruism. My best wishes to you ! Preserving and enhancing an historic downtown, fi nd- ing opportunities to link downtown with the Lake Mem- phremagog waterfront, burnishing and polishing the as- sets in Gardner Park, creating a new regional recreation James Abell, FAIA, LA facility, and committing to a “Century Bridge” in 2018 to Newport, VT R/UDAT Team Leader improve linkages, identity, and access to South Bay are all challenges that this community and its strong, enter- prising spirit can accomplish. With patience and determination, your community will fi nd the collective will and perseverance to provide your children and grandchildren with the small town atmo- sphere and quality of life you currently enjoy, but also a community richer in choices for housing, career, recre- ation, and entertainment for all stages of life. Your chal- lenge is accepting change while demanding the highest development standards of yourselves and new projects Page 3 Community Context Page 4 History Newport, Vermont is located in northeastern Vermont. “plastic bridge” - innovative in its application of carbon-fi ber Newport is the only bona fi de “city” in the Northeast reinforced plastic (CFRP) instead of steel. Three-quarters of Kingdom, though it is worth mentioning that the folks in Lake Memphremagog’s watershed, 489 square miles (1,270 St. Johnsbury Town don’t care much for that fact. Be- km2), is in Vermont. The total is 687 square miles (1,780 cause of its proximity to the Canadian border, the City of km2), with 198 square miles (510 km2) located in Quebec. Newport and the area it occupies have probably always The lake elevation is is 682 feet (208 m).[4] The lake has 20 been a regional hub of cultural activity and growth. islands. Province Island, the largest, is divided by the inter- Railroad in Downtown Newport national border. The name Memphremagog is derived from When the glory days of the railroad were over, the area Algonkian (Algonquin), which means “where there is a big changed considerably. This fact, combined with the expanse of water”. decline of the area’s manufacturing base over the years left only a few major manufacturing employers such as Newport City is the seat of Orleans County at the south end Ethan Allen Manufacturing in Orleans, Tivoly (formerly of Lake Memphremagog, near the Canadian border. The fi rst Butterfi elds) in Derby Line and Columbia Forrest Prod- house in the settlement (originally called Duncansboro) was ucts in Newport. Currently the largest employers in the built in 1793 by Deacon Martin Adams. The name Newport region are North Country Supervisory Union (11 elemen- was adopted in 1816. Newport town (township; chartered tary schools, a junior high school and a high school) and 1802), including the village of Newport Center, is adjacent to North Country Health Systems (hospital and out-patient the west. The city is an international port of entry and a rail- services). road junction of the Canadian Pacifi c Railway. It developed as a trade centre and a resort (skiing and water sports) and Tourism has always been a primary focus in the Newport lies in an extensive dairy region; at one time the handling Main Street 1950s area, often a destination for fi shing and boating. A desire and processing of milk were important until the closing of the to rebuild its tradition as a travel destination has in- H.P. Hood and Sons plant. Other light manufactures include creased as Newport has been forced to focus less on in- clothing, wood products, and plastics. dustry. The beauty and serenity of Lake Memphremagog still remain the major attraction. After Lake Champlain, As of the census of 2000, there were 5,005 people, 2,086 Lake Memphremagog is often referred to as Vermont’s households, and 1,192 families residing in Newport City. The other “great lake”. population density was 828.9 people per square mile. There were 2,342 housing units at an average density of 390.3/ Lake Memphremagog (Lac Memphrémagog in Quebec) per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 96.14% is a fresh water glacial lake located between Newport, White, .76% Black or African American, .62% Asian, .62% Vermont, United States and Magog, Quebec, Canada. Native American, .22% of Other Race, and 1.64% of two or The lake is 27 miles (43 km) long with 73 percent of the more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.28% of lake’s surface area in Quebec, where it drains into the the population. As of the census, there were 2,086, out of Magog River. The city of Sherbrooke, Québec is on the which 26.6% had children under the age of 18 living with Aerial photograph of Newport river north of Newport, Vermont. Where the river runs them, 41% were married couples living together, 12.6% had through Sherbrooke it has a unique and locally famous Page 5 History a female householder with no husband present, and 42.9% were Winston Lewis Prouty (September 1, 1906 - Septem- non-families. 35.5% of all households were made up of individu- ber 10, 1971) was a United States Representative and als, and 16% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age Senator from Vermont. The Prouty family owned and op- or older. The average household size was 2.20, and the average erated Prouty & Miller in Newport, a lumber and building family size was 2.84. materials company, with forests east of the Mississippi and in Canada. His uncle, George H. Prouty, served In the city the population was spread out with 24.8% under the as governor of Vermont from 1908 until 1910.