You Must Be This Tall
The Story of Rocky Point Park
A BELOVED RHODE ISLAND INSTITUTION
Where the midway meets memory
From 1847–1994, Rocky Point Park was a beloved Rhode Island institution, celebrated for its amusements, seafood, and shore-side dinner hall.Years after its closure—and subsequent fall into ruin—the Midway Pictures team explored the park’s history in a feature-length documentary, which opened to a sold-out crowd, enjoyed a local theatrical release, and aired on local PBS stations around New England.
FINDING BEAUTY IN THE PARK’S RUINS
Joy, wonder, wistfulness, mourning
Rocky Point had lain in ruins for over a decade—the extent of which had been unknown to the legions of nostalgic Rhode Islanders for whom the park represented the epitome of carefree summer days.By 2006, the park’s remains were haunting—a landscape of dilapidation from which nostalgia still seeped, its debris-sown midway juxtaposing rubble with brightly colored peeling paint. Photographing the ruins, and using ephemera from the park’s halcyon days—ticket stubs, wristbands, advertising—gave me a chance to synthesize the gamut of these emotions: joy, wonder, wistfulness, mourning.Source material from the park was used to craft the film’s one-sheet poster, DVD packaging, merchandise, as well as contribute titles to the opening sequence.
