Our History

The Florence Gray Center (FGC) was built in the North End neighborhood of Newport in the 70s and opened as the Tonomy Hill, Park Holm Multi-Purpose Center. In it's early days, it was home to Head Start, the Boys & Girls Club, and the Tonomy Hill Day Care Center. In the 80s, it was a distribution site for the government's cheese and butter program. When that program ended, the Rhode Island Food Bank helped establish the only food pantry in the North End inside of the Florence Gray Center.

Since then, FGC has been home to the neighborhood computer lab, EBCAP's Baby Steps program, "well baby" clinics, Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, multiple churches, community policing programs, AmeriCorps VISTAs, and so much more. 

Current tenants of the building are FabNewport, Newport Health Equity Zone (HEZ), East Bay Community Action Program (EBCAP) Adult Learning, Turning Around Ministries, and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Newport County.

Florence Gray Center In the News