Projects

The IYRS campus in Newport is home to two important restoration efforts, one recently completed and the other project currently underway.  Both are listed on the National Register of Historic Places and their restoration and ultimate reuse support the IYRS mission of "preservation through use."

The 1831 Aquidneck Mill Building

IYRS celebrated a milestone in the school's history on May 14: the official opening of the newly restored 1831 Aquidneck mill building. The building had lain fallow for decades, but the $7.5-million restoration transforms what was once an abandoned shell into a vital cornerstone of the Lower Thames Street neighborhood. The mill building houses a Visitor Center; a marine library that will be open to both students and the public; administrative offices; and lease space for companies and organizations whose focus is synergistic to the IYRS mission. Read more>

Restoration of the Schooner Yacht Coronet

Built in 1885 for American industrialist Rufus T. Bush, Coronet is the last remaining grand schooner from her era.  During her first five years, Coronet earned fame as a trans-Atlantic race winner and circumnavigated the globe as one of the first U.S.-registered yachts to round Cape Horn. A series of owners have used Coronet for different ends: for pleasure cruising, racing, scientific exploration, and even as a global voyager for a missionary cause. The storied schooner yacht is now being restored on the IYRS campus with work on the hull and deck scheduled to begin in Summer 2008.  Read more>