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Oakland Beach Warwick Rhode Island a beachfront community

Oakland Beach Warwick Rhode Island

Photo credit to http://www.rigreenways.com/

Oakland Beach Warwick Rhode Island

This is the first in a series that I promised to do on all the little villages in Warwick, Rhode Island

I am going to start with Oakland Beach.

First, Oakland Beach has one of the lowest elevations in Rhode Island.

Because of this, it was almost wiped out completely during the hurricane of "38.

Oakland Beach used to be a great amusement park up until then.

40-50 years ago, Oakland Beach was the place to go for a summer vacation.

People from Providence and surrounding areas would rent homes there and enjoy the beaches and views, along with the boardwalklike main road consisting of restaurants, complete with a Merry-go-Round. I remember staying there with my aunt and uncle when I was young and those memories are pleasurable.

After awhile, Oakland Beach started to degenerate. A lot of the homes there are and were quite small. Most of them had been beach houses, now converted to year round homes. Some were badly neglected and the neighborhood values deteriorated, attracting a more transient type of person who was not interested in keeping up their home.

Now, after the increase in Real Estate values in Rhode Island, especially in waterfront communities, Oakland Beach has started to awaken from its slumber.

Take a drive through and see the new construction, homes being redone, smaller homes being torn down. Yes, there are still some of the neglected homes, but the trend is definitely on the upswing.

I predict Oakland Beach to be a good investment for anyone who is considering beach property and cannot afford some of the higher priced areas in Rhode Island.

I am updating this with a link to the Oakland Beach Carousel website. This is a great website which also boasts photos of Oakland Beach from the past!

To learn more about Oakland Beach or to search for properties contact me at khurst@rihome.net

Posted by Karen Hurst ~ Principal Broker ~ Warwick ~ Rhode Island on 11/03/2006 09:46 PM

Comments (12)

Beach in the Regional (Localism) Channel

oakland beach, warwick, ri, rhode island, investment, beachfront, rhode island real estate

Originally posted at: Karen's Ocean State Blog: Oakland Beach Warwick Rhode Island a beachfront community

This post has been included in Rhode Island Information Kent County, RI Information Warwick, RI Information

12 Comments on Oakland Beach Warwick Rhode Island a beachfront community

NOV

2006

Thanks for your comment on my blog, Karen.

What's neat about real estate agents is that we also have to be historians: we must understand the past, present and future of the communities we represent. You do that well here in your blog.

Hope things are going great for you in RI! :)

APR

2007

Can someone please tell me what happened to the Merry Go Round that used to be at oakland Beach. Is it still in use somewhere?

Regards,

Ron Amison

Ron,

I do not know, but I will try to find out. I remember seeing what looked like some of the horses in a little store nearby. I remember that merry go round also. If I find out, I will post it here.

AUG

2007

Have not been able to find the Merry go Round. However on West Shore Road next to Antonios Bakery is one of the horses. They may have more information.

AUG

“Within this tremendous mass of redwood brought here to Miramar Beach by the sea,” said Michael Powers, “I intend to carve the forms of a man, a woman, and a child, a trilogy. It will probably take a year to complete but hopefully it will become a source of beauty and inspiration for everyone who comes to see it.”

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johnsmith

Rhode Island Treatment Centers

AUG

thankyou, John Smith

OCT

I was a young boy and my grandmother owned a rooming house at oakland beach, or where the beach used to be. It was a hundred feet from the beach. I remember having my first experience with salt water there. I used to walk over to the penny archade near the carosel, I was too small to reach for the brass ring. Sailors used to be all over the place as I recall. Over the years I used to fish there at the beach and saw my grandmother's house was still there as it was then. I went there last year after not being there in 12 years and was suprised the house is still there but weeds have covered the view of the beach. I'm glad they are building a carosel and are keeing the memory of that place alive.

OCT

Hi Bruce, Thank you for stopping by. I do not remember a rooming house there, but I did go there as a child and stay in a rented house and remember the carousel very well!!

I am guessing you were there a few years before me if there were sailors all over the place!! I am wondering which house is your grandmothers house. And the houses are selling for a lot less these days, you should come back for the summers!!

DEC

Hi Karen,

I happened across this site and I thought you would like an update to the O.B. carousel. The Oakland Beach Carousel Foundation was created to reconstruct the carousel. A website exists that explains the mission and progress. It will soon be updated to show the new pieces that the members have carved along with fund raising events. The latest event is a New Years Day Seawall Splash with Mayor Scott Avedisian and Councilwoman Donna Travis in attendance.Here is the website: www.oaklandbeachcarousel.org ``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````