Rose Nulman Park

Overview.

Timeline credit to Providence Journal reporter Antonia Noori Farzan:

1980s

Formerly home to the Lighthouse Inn restaurant, the land was purchased for millions by developers who hoped to build condominiums, but plans were stymied by the lack of sewer lines.

1990s

Rhode Island takes possession of the land following the credit union collapse and banking crisis of the early 1990s.

The property goes up for auction, as Governor Bruce Sundlun decides to sell off waterfront properties that belonged to failed banks, to help cover the cost of the taxpayer-funded bailout.

1993

Winning bid and ownership of the property goes to Saul Nulman, a "wealthy, enigmatic figure" who owned a Manhattan fabric company, The Providence Journal reported in 1993.

He named the park in honor of his Polish immigrant mother, a "penniless seamstress who toiled in a Fall River sweatshop", and pledged to keep the space open to public use.

2007

With Saul Nulman’s death, his family kept up the tradition of allowing the public to enjoy the park.

The land is now owned by the Rose Nulman Park Foundation, which lists two of his children as trustees.

2020

For much of 2020 and early 2021, the parking lot at Rose Nulman Park was closed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. But it was still possible to park on Ocean Road and follow the path down the rocky bluff.

2021

On Dec 8, 2021, the Foundation announces in a public Facebook Post that erosion is making it too dangerous to allow public use at all.

Without funding in the “tens of millions of dollars” to fix the problem, the park will be fenced off and permanently closed.