It’s All About Imagination
Narragansett Pier Dive Shop is not your usual dive store. Located in the resort town of Narragansett, the center caters to visiting divers, vacationers and an avid cadre of spearfisherman. Situated close to the water in what used to be the town’s train station, the store’s setting is ideal…except for one thing: space. There isn’t a lot of it.
Owner Charles Walpole was badly in need of elbow room in which to conduct classes, hold social gatherings and even provide quarters for out-of-town guests. That’s when a friend told Charles he had the perfect thing for Walpole to park in back of the town’s former train station: a caboose.
Maneuvering the once derelict caboose into position took some doing and, once in place, there was a fair amount of refurbishing to be done. Nevertheless, the effort was worth it.
Today the caboose functions as Walpole intended. It serves as a classroom, meeting space and guest quarters. The inside has a flawless, natural-wood finish, enhanced by stained glass windows and other nautical adornments.
Transporting the caboose to its present location required dismantling the cupola. When it was rebuilt, Walpole added portholes collected from local wrecks to further enhance the nautical appearance.
The beauty of the caboose is three-fold:
- It helps solve a critical space problem.
- It blends in perfectly with its environment.
- It stimulates the imagination, providing one more reason why a visit to Narragansett Pier Dive Shop is an exercise in fun.
What have you done lately to make your store as interesting a place to visit as possible?
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