The Wicked Yard

After a year of spending more time than ever indoors, homeowners are upgrading their outdoor living spaces and making them the center of activity and a focal point for families and friends. One common backyard improvement is the addition of a granite fire pit. Whether you’re looking to entertain guests or enjoy down time at the end of a long day,  a granite fire pit is an essential addition to any home that can be enjoyed during all seasons and is quick to assemble. 

Narragansett, Rhode Island was first surging in popularity as a summer resort town in 1887 when a Queen Anne Victorian home was built at the corner of Narragansett Avenue and Robinson Street. With stained-glass windows, ornate bargeboards, and a charming assortment of shingle styles, it was a turn-of-the-century dream home. Flash forward 130+ years and the once stately Victorian still stands in the Pier neighborhood of the quaint seaside town, but the exterior was weathered, the interior structurally deficient, and the home sat on its corner lot, vacant and abandoned. 

From the moment she saw the historic Greek Revival home, built in the mid-1800s and set on an acre of property in charming Westport, Connecticut, actress, entrepreneur and lifestyle blogger Eva Amurri could see the potential. “We loved it from the second we saw it,” explained the mom of two young children with a third on the way, “but felt like its space was not utilized well and it lacked the grandness it deserved, given its historic location in town.

Photo credit: U.S. Army

In a continued sign that those who lost their lives on 9/11 will never be forgotten, a memorial to those who were killed during the attack on the Pentagon was recently unveiled at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.

The memorial is in front of the new headquarters and reads, “PENTAGON … SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 … 09:37 … 184 HEROES.” The monument features a limestone slab from the original Pentagon building that survived the attack. WOODBURY GRAY® granite was used for the two outside, upright markers and the central block that the beam is resting on.

Within the last five years, residents in two small towns in Massachusetts have spearheaded the funding and construction of memorials that honor veterans and both feature WOODBURY GRAY™ granite, quarried in nearby Vermont.

Quarried in the town of Woodbury, Vermont, Woodbury Gray granite, one of several granite types offered at Swenson Granite Works, has brought timeless style to buildings across the country for over a century.