Interview with Nick Brown

Nick Brown is a member of the Brown family that has been active in Rhode Island philanthropy and commerce since its days as a colony. A 1956 graduate of the US Naval Academy and subsequent 27 years USN active duty, Brown then was named Director of the National Aquarium in Baltimore in 1983, serving in that position for the next 11 years. He moved back to Newport, RI, in 1998 to work in the area of historic preservation as the Executive Director of Preserve Rhode Island. Finally officially retired at the age of 70, he commenced a round of involvements with various non-profit organizations, such as Emmanuel Church, the New York Yacht Club and the Commanderie de Bordeaux. He also continues to sail on both his own boat and on charters as time permits.

1. Could you tell us about the impact that you and your family had on historic preservation throughout RI?

I remember my father, John Nicholas Brown II, being the one who really started becoming involved in historic preservation. He held a degree from Harvard in Fine Arts, which really shaped his perception of the built environment. Along with Antoinette Downing, who was a historic preservationist and architectural historian, they became involved in the preservation of the East Side during the 1950s. That area had been under threat of highway expansion and the encroachment of Brown University, who were looking to tear down historic buildings to make way for dormitories. Their efforts were the groundwork for what ultimately led to the creation of the Providence Preservation Society (PPS).

Around that time, the Federal government was setting up historic preservation commissions. While there would be a statewide government agency [the Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission], my father and Antoinette thought a private statewide organization would also be necessary. This led to the formation of the Heritage Foundation of Rhode Island (later Preserve Rhode Island). My father was one of its founding incorporators.

2. When did you become the Executive Director of Preserve Rhode Island? What inspired you to take on this role?

I became Executive Director of Preserve RI in 1998. Mind you, this was a rather definitive homecoming, as I had been more away than at home in Providence. I attended boarding school in Arizona, then in Massachusetts. After boarding school, I attended Harvard, followed by a 27-year long career in the Navy. After the Navy, I ran the National Aquarium in Baltimore. While there, I became familiar with the work of non-profits and the vital role they serve in communities. I very much wanted to continue working in the non-profit sector, so I was excited to be recruited by Preserve RI. This fulfilled both my desire to stay within a non-profit but also allowed me to finally return home to Rhode Island.

3. What was the landscape of preservation like in Rhode Island during your tenure? 

The popular opinion of preservation is like the tide; it comes in and goes out. In the ‘50s and ‘60s, the general public was very supportive of studying our collective past and architecture. This was the peak for preservation so far in my lifetime. The Preservation Society of Newport County was founded around this time, then Preserve RI paralleled what PPS did in Providence for the rest of the state. Historic preservation was very much alive and well.

However, in a democracy, the chance to oppose a movement is always a possibility. Questions arose as to why tax dollars should be spent to preserve the white man’s palace on the hill. Also, historic district zoning issues were criticized for preventing the creation of lower cost housing, an issue which has only become more intense.

During my time at Preserve RI, our focus was primarily on Lippitt House Museum. Fred Lippitt had gifted the home to Preserve RI, and with that came a responsibility to ensure that the property had a future as a house museum.

4. Preservation is often intertwined with many different camps, such as historical societies, main street organizations, housing creation, climate change, and more. What do you think about preservation's place in the Rhode Island of today?

You raise an excellent point: there are so many different facets of historic preservation. From a high viewpoint, preservation stands for preserving the past, so that we may better understand the future. Preservation, therefore, has a wide web of ideas and organizations that are connected to this very concept. Whether it’s organizations like Grow Smart RI, which advocate for main streets across RI, or affordable housing developers who rehab historic structures, preservation builds a wide web. After all, the built environment is in the service of people, and not everyone has the same aims – or needs. 

I frankly am heartened by the way the whole preservation universe in our small state coalesces. Some donors are more attracted to the zoning and Main Street issues.  Others to the ecological/environmental side. Others still to preserve monuments and milestones of history. But these all come together to ensure that our next generations will be able to know first-hand elements of the lives of those who preceded them.

5. What is your favorite historic place in Rhode Island? Why?

I greatly admire our State Capitol – easily the most distinguished of any statehouse I know. It is faithful to the architectural standards of the Greek Revival idiom. It also is “fit for purpose.”  And it has the unique Independent Man as the dome’s finial. It thus symbolizes the enduring values of the past while also showing solidity and giving confidence for the future. What could be better?