Projo — Narragansett's Rose Nulman Park may be closed now, but 'some good things are happening'

A surfer heads to the waves and the water through the closed and blocked entrance to Rose Nulman Park in Narragansett for story by Antonia on Jan 6, 2022. Kris Craig, The Providence Journal

Jan 7, 2022

By Antonia Noori Farzan — NARRAGANSETT — Almost every day, Gloria Benton walks a mile and a half from her home to Rose Nulman Park. It's the place where she feels closest to her late husband, Robert, who died last year just five days before his 90th birthday.

"I'm devastated by losing him," she said. "I will never be the same, I will never be right. But going there is peaceful. He loved to be there ... he loved everything about the water."

Before his battle with Alzheimer's disease, Robert was an avid fisherman, and the Benton family decided to honor his memory by paying for one of the new benches that were installed in the park last summer. Rain or shine, you'll find Gloria there, talking to Robert and gazing out at the wide-open ocean.

"In loving memory of my beloved husband Robert Benton, who is forever in my heart," a plaque says. "He found everything he loved here by the seashore."

Gloria is one of countless Rhode Islanders with a deep emotional attachment to privately-owned Rose Nulman Park, which sits on top of a crumbling bluff near the Point Judith Lighthouse. When boulders blocking the entrance and a sign reading "CLOSED" appeared just days before Christmas, there was a collective sense of mourning.

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