Oakland Beach, Rhode Island

Around 1895 the encampment was moved to a larger and better equipped facility at Quonset Point.

This densely populated community of small cottages was developed after World War I as a summer colony, largely for nearby Providence's middle-class Irish, Greek and Italian communities.

Oakland Beach reached its heyday in the 1930s when it boasted a bathing beach, boat docks and restaurants, as well as a Ferris wheel, and rail service to Providence and other nearby summer colonies.

Popular local attractions included an arcade, carousel (merry go round) movie theater, bowling alley and dodgem cars, it also housed a skating rink run by the same people who ran the oldest family run skating rink in the country which replaced the one in Oakland Beach after the 1930s New England Hurricane.

[3] Over the years, Oakland Beach has become a destination where people come to attend the many activities on the green, park by the sea wall to enjoy the beautiful vista of Greenwich Bay, kayak the scenic coves, stroll the shoreline and dine at the restaurants, the most notable being Iggy's Doughboys and Chowderhouse, Iggy's Boardwalk, and Top of the Bay (which used to be the Governor's residence).