Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Gangsters, Gambling and Girls!

Mom, Chrissie and I took a guided walking tour of Newport featuring the sites where Newport’s sordid reputation was born. We heard many stories of gangsters, mob hits and bustout joints, and the Newport Typewriter (a euphemism for the Tommy gun used in many of the hits). All of the places popular during the Syndicate heyday of Newport are now converted to other use, or gone altogether, including, sadly, our Uncle Butter’s Spotted Calf Bar.

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Our tour guides were very entertaining and full of trivia about Newport.

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The Spotted Calf stood in the open space behind this old, old gas station.

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And, believe it or not, this was the site of the Yorkshire Club which was host to such famous stars as Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin. Rather sad looking now.

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