Thanks to a $1.5 million open space bond approved by the State of Rhode Island, unrestricted access to Fort Adams occurred in the summer of 2012. Since the Fort re-opened to the public in 1965, it had only been open to guided tour or special events because of unsafe conditions. Working with the project architects, KZLA developed a strategy to make the 6.5-acre parade ground accessible to all visitors, improving interpretation of America’s largest coastal fortification, and restoring the historic landscape.

Decades of deferred maintenance left overgrown vegetation, broken pavement, and barricades. Significant clearing of vegetation on vertical walls, elevated fort features, and the dramatic earthworks made the fort legible to visitors and will help preserve the masonry. A three-dimensional stone model of the fort was constructed outside of the east gate to orient visitors to this large and complicated site.