Easton’s Beach could be headed for another major change — this time targeting the bathhouses.
Two years after Newport demolished the longtime snack bar and carousel buildings, a newly released February 2026 facilities report now recommends removing the bathhouse complex as part of a broader resiliency effort.
Consultants evaluating the site found the 17 wooden bathhouses structures — which sit atop an elevated concrete deck — are in poor condition and increasingly difficult to maintain. The complex includes 226 bathhouses, along with upper-level restrooms for renters. Public restrooms are located below.
According to the report, the bathhouses were built with relatively inexpensive materials that have not held up well in the harsh coastal environment. Wood elements are deteriorating, and the lack of proper drainage has accelerated the damage.
The concrete deck beneath them remains structurally sound for now, engineers said, but water pools across the surface due to improper pitch. That standing water is infiltrating the slab and contributing to long-term wear.
Fixing the drainage would require lifting or removing the bathhouses to reconfigure the deck. Cutting drainage openings into the slab could risk damaging embedded steel reinforcement rods, making repairs complex and costly.
“Given that the bath houses must be removed or lifted to address the drainage condition at the concrete deck, and the fact that they are in poor condition and difficult to maintain, it is recommended that the existing bath houses be removed,” the report says.
The recommendation comes as Newport continues reimagining Easton’s Beach in the wake of major changes. The demolition of the snack bar and carousel — longtime fixtures of summer at Easton’s Beach — were met with public outrage.
City officials are also now evaluating dune protection concepts costing between $6.5 million and $12 million, some of which would eliminate hundreds of parking spaces to create stronger natural storm barriers.
City spokesman Thomas Shevlin emphasized that no final decisions have been made regarding the bathhouses. The facilities report is part of an ongoing planning process that includes public engagement and will ultimately require City Council approval.
The report suggests that future built amenities at the beach should be limited to critical functions — such as lifeguard stations, public bathrooms and outdoor showers.
With the carousel gone and the snack bar already a memory, the bathhouses may be the next piece of Easton’s Beach’s character to disappear — another chapter of the shoreline’s history potentially erased.
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