Island Park has always been a place where neighbors gather. These stories and photos are a start. More will be added as the community shares them.
Early 1900s postcard
Long before today's Bike & Stroll and Polar Dive, Island Park was already a place neighbors came to enjoy the water. This hand-colored postcard looks east along the beach toward the row of shingle cottages that still define the neighborhood's coastal character.
Vintage views like this remind us that gathering by the bay is not a new idea in Portsmouth. It is the thread that connects generations of Island Park families.
1946 and after
Anyone who has driven past the boat facility near Sunset Cove has probably wondered about the building's former life. It originally opened as the Island Theatre on August 23, 1946, a project started by Orville O. Smith to bring cinema to the rural crowds of Portsmouth and Tiverton. It was a local favorite for years, known for its cool air conditioning and 500 seats that stayed packed for everything from Disney cartoons to the latest Hollywood thrillers.
The theater saw its fair share of history, including a major fire in July 1955 that heavily damaged the entrance and front of the building. Rather than closing for good, it underwent a grand reopening with a brand new Vista-Vision and CinemaScope screen to keep the movie magic alive. People still remember the amateur nights and the Saturday kiddie shows that featured Batman serials and classic cartoons, making it a true community hub for the neighborhood at the time.
Today, while the marquee is gone and the building serves a much more industrial purpose, the structure remains an important piece of IP history. It stands as a quiet reminder of the days when locals gathered on Park Ave to see stars like Cary Grant and Grace Kelly on the big screen.
If you have any old photos or stories of seeing a show there before it closed, the community would love to hear them.
Early 1900s
This photograph looks toward one of Island Park's classic summer gathering spots: a shingled pavilion along the shore, with neighbors relaxing on the porch and lawn while kids stand on the wooden boardwalk below.
The caption stamped on the planks reads "ISL. PARK PORTSMOUTH, R. I." Scenes like this capture the resort-era rhythm of the neighborhood, when families dressed for a day by the water and the bay was the center of social life.
If you recognize the building, the year, or anyone in photos like this, reach out so we can keep the story accurate.
Early 1900s postcards and photos
These views show Island Park when porches, trolley wires and unpaved roads were part of daily life. The postcard labeled Main Street looks north along the neighborhood grid, with screened summer porches and utility poles lining the way.
Another card, "A Quiet and Peaceful Scene," looks across the southwest bend of the Sakonnet River toward the cottage row that still defines the waterfront. A third photograph captures a raised house along a dirt street with rail tracks beside it, stamped "Island Park, Portsmouth."
Together they sketch how residents moved through the same blocks we walk today, long before the events IPCC hosts now.
Resort-era advertisement
Island Park was not always quiet winters and the Bike & Stroll. This vintage handbill promotes a "Big Carnival Celebration" with a midway, ballroom dancing and nightly shows free at 4 and 10 p.m.
Headline acts included Carver's Famous Diving Horses, with a rider plunging forty feet into a tank of water. The week also promised a pivoting contest, a championship fox trot with cash prizes, kiddies' day rides at half price and a Thursday night pageant to crown Miss Island Park. The winner was offered a seven-day trip to New York, Atlantic City and Washington, D.C., with expenses paid by Island Park management.
