This RI downtown was named one of the most charming in the U.S. by HGTV. It's not Newport
This coastal Rhode Island downtown is one of the best in the U.S., according to HGTV, and it's not Newport.
HGTV named Wickford, a village in the town of North Kingstown, Rhode Island as one of the most charming small-town downtown areas in America.
"Nothing charms like a small downtown that beckons visitors with historic architecture and boutique shops or local culture and tree-lined streets," HGTV said.
Here's what the Home & Garden Television network had to say about this Rhode Island village.
When it comes to Wickford, HGTV recommended taking in the architecture and visiting the shops.
What HGTV said about it: "Dating back to 1709, historic Wickford Village was originally a fishing village, but today it charms visitors and locals alike with picturesque waterfront streets, pastel-colored Colonial-era homes and nautical views across Wickford Harbor. There are a lot of ways to explore Wickford, too, whether on foot as you stroll the historic village, or by kayak or bike, both of which can be rented by the hour or day. Stop in delightful shops like Different Drummer or Green River Silver Co., explore art galleries and dine at the tempting seafood restaurants along Main Street. For winter fun like snowtubing and skiing, visit nearby Yawgoo Valley. There's a water park there for summer adventures."
Rin Velasco is a trending reporter. She can be reached at rvelasco@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: HGTV names RI downtown one of the most charming in US

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Bristol named one of the most charming small towns in the US
BRISTOL, R.I. (WPRI) — One of the smallest towns in the smallest state is getting national recognition. HGTV has named Bristol one of the 50 most charming small towns in the United States. While it's still largely unknown to travelers, Bristol has a rich history of military, trade, manufacturing, recreation, agriculture and maritime activity. It's also home to the country's oldest continuous Fourth of July celebration. Nantucket, Massachusetts, and Mystic, Connecticut, almost made the list. NEXT: Bristol named safest community in RI for 6th straight year Download the and apps to get breaking news and weather alerts. Watch or with the new . Follow us on social media: Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Is this Mississippi adventure on your bucket list? What HGTV says is a must-do before you die
If you could pick one thing for people to do in Mississippi what would it be? HGTV has created a must-do list of 50 bucket list items, one for every state. For example, you could see the Northern Lights in Alaska, hike the Grand Canyon in Arizona, see Chicago from The Skydeck or take in a baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston. The state has beautiful beaches, stellar food options and some of the country's best museums and college sports. On top of that, we're surrounded by natural beauty and small towns with fun downtown areas where you can get a taste of art, culture, literature or just enjoy a day of shopping at small businesses. Still, the Mississippi pick might surprise you. "Is coming face-to-face with an alligator on your bucket list? Take an airboat tour with Gulf Coast Gator Ranch on the swamplands of the Mississippi Gulf Coast to spot a gator in their natural habitat," HGTV wrote. Gulf Coast Gator Ranch and Airboat Swamp Tours in Moss Point offers rides and tours of its own gator ranch. River View Swamp Tours, based in Pearlington, has 2-hour cruises of Honey Island Swamp. If you prefer to stay on land, Gulf Coast Eco Tour, also in Pearlington, will lead you on a boardwalk tour to see wildlife in the swamp. You can rent a kayak if you prefer to get up close with nature. Mississippi alligators can be a lot of fun to look at. But keep your hands to yourself. Did you know killing alligators in Mississippi is illegal outside of specific hunting seasons? It's also against the law to possess, feed, harass or mess with an alligator at all in the Magnolia State. Contributing: Brian Broom Bonnie Bolden is the Deep South Connect reporter for Mississippi with Gannett/USA Today. Email her at bbolden@ This article originally appeared on Mississippi Clarion Ledger: Bucket list: See what HGTV says you must do in MS before you die


Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
This national landmark had to move because of a landslide. Inside what's next for Wayfarers chapel
A year ago, one of the Los Angeles region's most beloved buildings was busy being dismantled, stone by stone, beam by beam. The Wayfarers Chapel, also informally known as the 'tree chapel' or 'glass church,' had since 1951 stood serenely on a lightly forested bluff in Rancho Palos Verdes, overlooking the waters of Abalone Cove. Designed for the nature-loving Swedenborgian Church by Lloyd Wright, the talented son of Frank Lloyd Wright, the building seemed to disappear into the redwood grove that surrounded it, thanks to its glass walls and ceiling, craggy Palos Verdes stone walls and laminated timber frame, which formed circles and squares symbolizing, among other things, the primal elements, the oneness of God and the unity of all life. No wonder it was the chosen site for 800 weddings a year. But the eerily shifting lands of the Portuguese Bend landslide — which also prompted the 2024 evacuation and loss of dozens of homes in the area — presented an existential threat to the chapel, and last May the church made the painful decision to take down what had just months before been named a national historic landmark, put its parts in storage and try to find a new home. 'We had no idea if we'd be rebuilding in one year or five,' said Katie Horak, a principal at the Los Angeles office of Architectural Resources Group, or ARG, which, with Gardena-based K.C. Restoration, led the dismantling. 'We just knew we had to save what we could.' Now a new site has been identified, although not yet secured. Over the weekend, Wayfarers Chapel's website began showcasing renderings, produced by ARG and landscape architects Agency Artifact. They showed the chapel, perched on an ocean-hugging hilltop a little more than a mile from its original location. The 4.9-acre parcel, which also houses a World War II-era bunker, is a former military installation called Battery Barnes, owned by the U.S. Coast Guard. It's a few hundred feet southwest of Rancho Palos Verdes City Hall. Rancho Palos Verdes City Manager Ara Mihranian confirmed that the city, which owns most of the land encircling the potential chapel site, was strongly supportive of Wayfarers moving to the proposed location. 'Wayfarers is one of our iconic symbols. It's been here longer than the city was incorporated. It's part of our landscape, our cultural DNA,' he said. Mihranian confirmed that the Coast Guard had begun the process of divesting the land to the city, which would then lease or sell it to the church. (Mihranian said the city would prefer to lease the land, but the church has said it would prefer to buy it, or swap it for its previous site.) The divestiture process could take a year or two, maybe more, said Mihranian, who noted that the chapel and the city recently submitted a letter to U.S. Congressman Ted Lieu, whose 36th District includes the site, to help expedite the process. 'It's not a done deal yet,' added Robert Carr, Wayfarers Chapel's administrative director. 'But we're closer than we've ever been. There's goodwill all around. We just have to make it happen.' Carr added that the site, abutting the Alta Vicente nature preserve, would be an ideal fit for the church. Geological surveys show no shifting land underneath, and in many ways it's similar to the original location. 'It's a high hilltop with a steep slope that has views a quarter mile away of the cliffs and the points and the bays,' Carr said. Horak added that it also works well from a preservation standpoint: 'It's close to the original location, shares the same coastal breeze, orientation and microclimate. That's critical for the sensitive materials we salvaged. The light, the view, even the way the wind moves across the hill — it's as if it was meant to be.' Carr said rebuilding would likely take place in stages, starting with the chapel, followed by a new bell tower, meeting hall (lost to a landslide in the 1980s), stone colonnade and facilities like a café and museum, which could be installed inside the site's former bunker, Carr said. The city and chapel have discussed a community hall that could be used for city events during the week and wedding receptions on the weekend. Fundraising, Carr said, has just started, but the chapel hopes to raise around $10 million by summer 2026 for the chapel. The group eventually wants to raise about $30 million for the entire project. Both figures, he said, could change as a design emerges. ARG and Agency Artifact created schematic designs for the chapel in its new location; the project's final design team has not been chosen. Putting the chapel back together in a way that preserves its integrity, Horak said, will be no easy task, no matter who works on it. Her team was able to save many of the building's component parts, like the wood building frame, steel window frames, stone walls and many of the roof tiles. It was also able to take a digital scan of the original building. But the glass will have to be new, as will the bell tower, which couldn't be saved (although its bells were). The chapel will need new seismic strengthening, and trees and landscaping will need to be planted along its periphery. But compared to what Horak described as the 'adrenaline-fueled' disassembly, which couldn't employ cranes or scaffolding due to the shifting earth, the process will be less stressful. 'At least we can use heavy equipment,' she said with a laugh. A museum at the new site could showcase, among many other things, Lloyd Wright's work on the chapel, Carr said. That would be a triumph for the architect, who designed important buildings in Los Angeles but never gained the recognition many think he deserved. One case in point: His astounding, X-shaped Moore House in nearby Palos Verdes Estates was unceremoniously demolished by its owners in 2012. 'Very few people can actually point to his work,' said Adrian Scott Fine, president and chief executive of the Los Angeles Conservancy. As for the chapel's design, he said: 'There's nothing else like it. This is a place that people would go to almost like a pilgrimage.' Rev. James Lawrence, president of the Swedenborgian Church of North America, added that the crystalline Wayfarers had become the church's most prominent symbol. Several cities around the country, he said, had offered to house the reconstruction. 'We had a national cathedral in Washington, but Wayfarers became the national cathedral psychologically. There's something aesthetic and symbolic and powerful about the chapel that has made it such a well-known place around the planet.'