Sporting his trademark bow tie and button-down shirt, Bob Burke's only concession to yesterday's extraordinary heat was wearing seersucker shorts instead of long pants, which of course meant no socks with his loafers. Shortly after high noon, when the temperature downtown hit 95 degrees, Burke was leading about a hundred people on the second annual Providence Independence Trail walk, exploring the city's entertaining history on foot.The oldest walker was 82, the youngest 6, and all of them had gathered to begin the walk at Burke's fabulously rococo Federal Reserve restaurant (built as Union Trust bank in 1901) at 60 Dorrance St. There, beneath the 24-karat gilded 20-foot ceiling and row of stained glass rosette windows, Burke was offering an array of Rhode Island down-home specialties — clam cakes, clear chowder, saugy dogs and Narragansett beer — to fortify the walkers for the tour. Serving such down-home fare in such luxurious surroundings was a bit of purely inspired Burke-manship.
Burke, who grew up in Rhode Island and was a pioneer on Providence's fine dining scene with his Pot au Feu restaurant, has had a love for the city's history since his days as a student at LaSalle Academy. He has taken on as his personal mission the correction of the false claim by Boston to have begun the American Revolution with the Boston Tea Party of Dec. 16, 1773. Burke rightly says the Revolution actually started on June 9, 1772 (236 years ago today) when a group of daring Providence men boldly burned the British ship Gaspee in Narragansett Bay. "Compare that as an act of war with dressing up as Indians and throwing tea into the water 18 months later!" crowed Burke, who is himself plotting a bold march on Boston this fall to force the issue of correcting the historical record.
One of the many high points of yesterday's entertaining history walk was Burke's action-packed description of the events surrounding the Gaspee burning, beginning with the story of how the captain of the Rhode Island ship the Hannah not only eluded the Gaspee but also cleverly suckered the British ship onto a sandbar where ultimately it was burned by the pre-Revolutionary Rhode Islanders.Burke expects to make his Independence Trail walking tour available to everyone for free with a cell-phone download keyed to the 48 sites on the 3-mile route. He's also working on a Web site for the tour. Right now, he's offering it for groups such as schools, scout troops, corporations and community organizations.
The number to call for information is (401) 273-8953, or email bob@federalreserveri.com.
