The Big House served as quarters for staff members when the former park was operating.

08:52 AM EDT on Friday, September 3, 2004

BY CATHLEEN F. CROWLEY
Journal Staff Writer

Journal photo / Steve Szydlowski Warwick firefighters battle a blaze that destroyed a vacant building at the former Rocky Point Amusement Park, in Warwick, last night.

WARWICK -- A suspicious fire destroyed The Big House at the former Rocky Point Amusement Park last night.

The building, which had housed the cooks and other staff members when the park was operating, had already sustained years of abuse by vandals, vagrants, and previous fires.

"This is not a surprise," said Fire Chief Jack Chartier.

A passing boater saw the fire last night and reported it at 6:30 p.m. When firefighters arrived, two floors were engulfed. Flames shot 30 to 40 feet in the air.

Knowing the building was vacant, firefighters kept their distance and poured water on the flames, Chartier said. Seven engines, two ladder trucks and a special hazards vehicle were called in to fight the three-alarm fire. Firefighters prevented the flames from spreading to the nearby Shore Dinner Hall.

The roof of the Big House caved in and one side of the building partially collapsed, Chartier said. The wood-frame structure was a total loss.

Chartier said the fire was of suspicious origin and was under investigation. The building did not have electrical service.

Rocky Point Amusement Park opened in 1847, and for more than 100 years was one of America's greatest and most famous amusement parks. It was nearly destroyed in the hurricane of 1938, but the park was rebuilt with new rides and enjoyed a renaissance.

The park changed ownership several times and attendance and upkeep of the rides declined. In 1995, saddled with debt after years of losses under its former owner, Arnold Kilberg's Moneta Capital, the park closed and its rides were sold off around the country.

Its creditors liquidated the property in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in 1999. Soon after, the Small Business Administration was appointed to manage the property, and find a long-term use for the site.

The park's 126 acres occupy a prime spot on the southern tip of the Warwick Neck peninsula, jutting out into Narragansett Bay, and were considered one of the most valuable pieces of property in the state for residential development.

In November, it was agreed to sell the park for $25 million to Vanderbilt Capital, a South Carolina developer that proposes building as many as 350 dwellings, most of them condominiums.

The SBA is awaiting U.S. Bankruptcy Court approval of the purchase-and-sale agreement.

Ken Perry, who was hired to manage Rocky Point while it was under receivership, was at the fire scene last night. He said the blaze would not affect the sale of the property.

It's just another building that will be torn down, he said.

-- With reports from staff writer Daniel Barbarisi.