Updates from the OH

18 January 2006: Ocean House Website Update
by Leslie A. Brown

For the first time since 1868, the bluff sprawled across Watch Hill no longer displays the brilliant yellow beacon, the Ocean House. For over a century, sailors and land folk alike have used the hotel as a landmark from land and sea.

Those faithful who showed up in Watch Hill in December 2005 witnessed a haunting vision. First, the hotel was painted a vast white to contain the old lead paint. The white engulfed what seemed like the whole landscape and was a ghostly reminder of what was to come.

The demolition itself only took a few days, somehow too short a time for such a beloved icon. In the end, all that remained were piles of wood, still sheathed in white, and an emptiness on the bluff.

Looking ahead to the new year, we are pleased to announce that the Westerly Armory has offered to host an oral history night this spring, most likely in May or June. This event presents the opportunity for Ocean House fans to get together, brainstorm, reminisce, and have a part of the Ocean House’s future. We urge you to tell your own stories and share your own pictures and memorabilia.

An example of such a treasured memory is the following, submitted by David Emmet, “When I was able to operate a power boat at the age of thirteen, a new view was created and a navigating tool recognized. The yellow building was often the first to appear through fog and haze.”

Recently, we made an exciting discovery via an email to this website. Ann Charat, who stayed at the hotel starting in the 1940s, found Edgar, the chief bellhop, age 94 and well in Camden, South Carolina. She remarked that Edgar “was very saddened to learn that the OH had been torn down.” Edgar was as much a part of Ocean House legend and history as anyone in modern times, and we anticipate contacting him for his unique perspective.

Once again, we encourage all of you to share your memories now, through this website, and/or in the spring at the oral history gathering at the Armory.

We begin a new chapter in the life of the Ocean House.