By
the early twentieth century, Sunday had become the working-class
holiday. Many working-class families spent their Sundays at
public parks, amusement parks, or public beaches. Others took
short trips to destinations farther afield.
Working-class
visitors came to Newport to go to the public beach, to sightsee,
and to enjoy their time off from work. According to an 1894
article in Scribner's:
"These new elements 'have a good time,' in our American
idiom, and certainly no place in our democratic country,
not even Newport, can consistently elevate any ideal above
that of providing people in general with a good time..."
[1]
Vaudeville
Advertising
Entertainment
at Freebody Park
Vaudeville's
origins were saloon-hall variety shows. A typical program included
skits, comedians, and dancing acts.
Newport's Freebody Park was the center for vaudeville entertainment.
An open-air theatre was constructed there in 1902 for vaudeville
shows and motion pictures. In the summer of 1913, Associated
Amusements brought headliners from New York City to Newport.
[2]
Amusement
Parks By
the early twentieth century, resorts advertised new forms
of commercial leisure to attract both middle-class and working-class
visitors.
Roller
Coaster at
Easton's Beach
New
York's Coney Island offered amusement parks catering to both
middle-class and working-class patrons. Newport offered some
mechanized leisure of its own on a smaller scale.
By
1913 the Newport Beach Association had made improvements to
Easton's Beach to attract more patrons. A boardwalk was added
that extended to Middletown. A four-car roller coaster appeared, as well as a merry-go-round, an arcade, and a shooting
gallery. Restaurants, concession stands, a convention hall,
and a ballroom were other attractions. [3]
Concerts, moving pictures, vaudeville, and fireworks were
common summer entertainments. These were just the sorts of
"cheap amusements" working-class Americans enjoyed in other
areas.
Advertising
Easton's Beach
Newport
guidebooks for 1909, 1911, and 1913 proudly advertised the
new recreational opportunities at Easton's Beach. [4] Interestingly,
Newporters rejected construction of a hotel on Easton's Beach
because they did not want Newport to become "another Coney
Island." [5]
