Music in Touro Park
Touro Park Postcard showing the bandstand
Historic Music of Newport Archives
The Origins of the Park
This article from the May 8, 1857, Newport Daily News, chronicles how Touro Park came to be.
The Early Park
The park was used for concerts, military parades and even for the Fourth of July fireworks in its early years. The articles below show just a few of the events happening in Touro Park in the late 1850s and early 1860s.
During the Civil War, the United States Naval Academy was transferred to Newport and much of the instruction was given at the Atlantic House, right next door to Touro Park. The Academy’s band was headquartered at the Atlantic House and regularly performed in the park.
Photos from the Providence Public Library Digital Archives
The Bandstand
In May of 1871, the Newport City Council voted to build a bandstand in Touro Park. That bandstand stood until the City Council approved $600 for a new bandstand in 1892. The 1892 resolution also called for the Council to approve more free concerts in the park. That bandstand stood until 1937 when it was demolished. It had been in disrepair for years. That was the end of the bandstand in Touro Park.
Concerts in the Park in the Gilded Age
Touro Park became a place where all of Newport could come together to hear the city’s many professional and amateur bands.
Music in Touro Park Today
Touro Park is once again the home of free summer band concerts. Every June and July we host the Touro Park Summer Concert Series.