John Shannon

The Newport Tower with Jim Egan

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• published: 02 Mar 2013
• views: 7353

The Newport Tower is one of the most amazing structures in North America. Follow Jim Egan (recently featured on the History Channel's 'America Unearthed' TV show, as he discusses the history of the Newport Tower with numerous tourists and passersby. Included is the astronomical alignments of the Tower, the camera obscura calendar room, and the early English settlement efforts in New England. Jim presented his best defense against the America Unearthed Host Scott Wolter, but much of his evidence was left on the cutting room floor. Here he tells his side of the story. In 1990 William Penhallow, a professor of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Rhode Island discovered several astronomical alignments in the windows of the Newport Tower. The discovery of these astronomical alignments led to more investigation of the origin of the Newport Tower. The presence of these alignments is strong evidence that the Newport Tower's original design was not that of a windmill. Two decades ago Jim Egan began researching the origin of the Newport Tower. His experience as a professional photographer opened his eyes to the camera obscura that Professor Penahallow had referenced. Further reseach showed that in the 1580's Queen Elizabeth and members of her court were planning to colonize North America, and their first destination was the area now know as Narragansett Bay, where the Newport Tower is located. Queen Elizabeth granted the rights to North America to Sir Humphrey Gilbert on the conditions that he colonize the area and build a permanent structure within 5 years. Egan's research indicates that this tower would very likely be designed by John Dee, the technical advisor to Sir Humphrey Gilbert, who had named the bay after himself, the John Dee Bay and River, due to the astounding similarities in the architecture of the Tower and the writings of Dee. If Egan is correct, the Newport Tower is the oldest European-built structure in continental United States, a potential World Heritage Site, and a historical treasure representing one of the earliest connections between Europe and America. Video by Marc Creedon http://marccreedon.com http://marccreedon.wordpress.com http://newporttowermuseum.com http:/newporttower.wordpress.com Jim explains the rest of the story online at http://newporttowermuseum.com http://facebook.com/newporttower http://newporttower.wordpress.com and at his museum located at 152 Mill St in Newport dedicated to The Newport Tower.