This month's "Where Am I?" is one of the countless examples of public art across Middletown. This piece was done on the former electrical substation site between the Aquidneck Avenue and Valley Road intersection and the City of Newport reservoirs.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Matt Sheley at (401) 842-6543 or msheley@middletownri.com
“WHERE AM I?” ANSWER — APRIL 2022
MIDDLETOWN, R.I. (APRIL 4, 2022) – Public art is everywhere, it’s just more obvious in some locations than others.
Locally, there’s prominent displays of art at Middletown High School and each of the schools, St. George’s School as well as the stone stacks that dot the shoreline of the Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge.
For most who drive through Valley Road and Aquidneck Avenue, the shark and sports mural to the west of the intersection by Green End Pond is barely visible.
The smallish site overlooking Green End Pond and Easton Pond is posted by the Newport Water Division, who is the owner of the location.
But now that National Grid has disassembled the electrical substation once there, the painting featuring the grinning Great White along with logos of the local sports franchises might be a little more obvious.
The removal of the substation was part of National Grid’s Aquidneck Island Reliability Project. The goal of that $93 million effort was to minimize electrical outages and improve the overall electrical infrastructure across the island.
In addition to the Aquidneck Avenue-Valley Road substation, similar facilities on upper Aquidneck Avenue next to Gaudet Middle School and East Main Road between Bailey Brook and the Starbucks coffee shop were removed too.
The old electrical substation on Jepson Lane at the Portsmouth town line was also taken off line and replaced with a new, state-of-the-art operation across the street. For more information about the ongoing Aquidneck Island Reliability Project, visit https://onislandngrid.com online.
Document Link: https://www.middletownri.com/DocumentCenter/View/4311/WAI-April-2022
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