Bellevue Avenue Historic District
Bellevue Avenue Historic District | |
Location | Newport, RI |
---|---|
Coordinates | 41°28′13″N 71°18′26″W / 41.47028°N 71.30722°W |
Area | 606 acres (242 ha) |
Architect | Multiple |
Architectural style | Late Victorian, Mixed (more than two styles from different periods) |
NRHP reference No. | 72000023 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | December 8, 1972[1] |
Designated NHLD | May 11, 1976[2] |
The Bellevue Avenue
The district was declared a National Historic Landmark (NHL) in 1976.[2][3] Several of the mansions within the district are also individually National Historic Landmarks, and a number of them are open to the public as museums. The district has become one of Newport's major tourist attractions.
Geography
The district encompasses an area of 606 acres (245 ha) bounded by Block Island Sound and Narragansett Bay to the south and east, respectively, Spring Street and Coggeshall Avenue to the west, and Memorial Boulevard to the north. This takes in the southeastern quarter of the developed portions of the city on the southwestern neck of Aquidneck Island. Bellevue Avenue itself runs north–south for over two miles (3.2 km) through the middle of the district.
Commercial properties are clustered near the
History
During the
In 1839,
More and more wealthy families were drawn to Newport in the summers, transforming the architecture again.
These houses and their occupants made Newport synonymous with wealth and leisure in the early 20th century. Tennis and sailing would become associated with the city and the district through the tennis courts in the Casino, which hosted the early tournaments that became the US Open, and the America's Cup races which began being held in the nearby waters every three years. The onset of the Depression began to change this, as some families, faced with dwindling fortunes, turned their houses over to the public or private nonprofits such as the Preservation Society of Newport County.
As the trend toward tourism continued in the years after
Preservation efforts had been going on in the downtown historic district for years, and the city had begun to appreciate their value as tourist attractions. In 1965, it recognized as part of its original local historic district three smaller areas in the Bellevue area, later added to the National Register of Historic Places: the original Bellevue Avenue district along the residential portions of the street itself, the Ochre Point/Cliffs district around The Breakers and the Bellevue Avenue/Casino District in that area.
In 1972 the city applied to the National Park Service to combine all three and expand them into the current Bellevue Avenue district.[3] Four years later the new district was recognized as a National Historic Landmark District, the second of three in the city. The mansions and museums continue to be a draw for visitors to the city today.
Significant contributing properties
The builders of the mansions had the means to employ the best architectural talent available to them at the highest level of creativity. "The list of architects", says NPS historian Carolyn Pitts,"embraces almost every major designer of that time and what emerges at Newport is also a study of the development of the taste and skill of men like
Eight of the district's buildings have been designated as National Historic Landmarks in their own right. Several others are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Many are open to the public for guided tours.
National Historic Landmarks
- Shingle Style house.[4]
- Italian Renaissance-style Vanderbilt home is Newport's signature mansion and a symbol of the Gilded Age.[5]
- Second Empire and other late 19th century styles by Richard Morris Hunt. Considered the first of the great Newport mansions.[6]
- The Elms: Horace Trumbauer mansion for coal magnate Edward Julius Berwind was one of the first houses wired for electricity. Classical Revival style imitates Château d'Asnières in France.[7]
- Gothic Revival 1839 cottage by Richard Upjohn is the first large house in the city built for a summer resident.[8]
- Beaux Arts design for William Kissam Vanderbilt was one of the first stone mansions, and started a trend toward very large homes in Newport.[9]
- Newport Casino: The only non-residential NHL within the district, it was its first Shingle Style building and one of the first American social clubs to include recreational facilities.[10]
- William Watts Sherman House: Henry Hobson Richardson house, with interiors by Stanford White, considered one of his best works. Prototype for the Shingle Style.[11]
Other major properties
- Beechwood: The Astors' Newport home, remodeled from an older one. Formerly living museumwith actors playing the family, its guests and staff for visitors, now privately owned and closed to the public.
- Belcourt of Newport: Summer home of Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont, built by Hunt in a variety of different styles of the time.
- Rosecliff: Stanford White's imitation of Versailles' Grand Trianon, built for silver heiress Theresa Fair Oelrichs.
- Ochre Court: Châteauesque mansion by Richard Morris Hunt. One of a number of properties also within the Ochre Point–Cliffs Historic District.
- Vernon Court: Imitation of a Germain Boffrand chateau. Today home to the National Museum of American Illustration.
Historic District Commission
To maintain the district's historic character, the city created its Historic District Commission (HDC) at the same time as the district itself. It consists of nine citizens appointed to three-year terms by the City Council to oversee not just the downtown historic district but Newport's other historic districts, two of which (downtown and Ocean Drive) are also recognized as National Historic Landmarks. The city considers them all one large district for its administrative purposes.[12]
The HDC must review any exterior alterations to a building in the district beyond ordinary maintenance and repair, and issue a Certificate of Appropriateness. It cannot order any changes made to a property.[12]
See also
- Bellevue Avenue/Casino Historic District, covering a portion of this district
- List of National Historic Landmarks in Rhode Island
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Newport County, Rhode Island
- Ochre Point-Cliffs Historic District, covering another portion of this district
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ a b "Bellevue Avenue Historic District". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on August 12, 2009. Retrieved February 21, 2008.
- ^ a b c Pitts, Carolyn (February 5, 1976). National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Bellevue Avenue Historic District (PDF). National Park Service.
- ^ "Bell, Isaac Jr., House". National Park Service. Archived from the original on August 12, 2009. Retrieved April 30, 2008.
- ^ "Breakers, The". National Park Service. Archived from the original on August 12, 2009. Retrieved April 30, 2008.
- ^ "Chateau-sur-Mer". National Park Service. Archived from the original on August 12, 2009. Retrieved April 30, 2008.
- ^ "Elms, The". National Park Service. Archived from the original on August 12, 2009. Retrieved April 30, 2008.
- ^ "Kingscote". National Park Service. Archived from the original on August 12, 2009. Retrieved April 30, 2008.
- ^ "Marble House". National Park Service. Archived from the original on August 12, 2009. Retrieved April 30, 2008.
- ^ "Newport Casino NHL". National Park Service. Archived from the original on August 12, 2009. Retrieved April 30, 2008.
- ^ "Sherman, William, Watts House". National Park Service. Archived from the original on August 12, 2009. Retrieved April 30, 2008.
- ^ a b "Historic District Commission". City of Newport Department of Planning, Zoning and Inspection. Archived from the original on May 6, 2008. Retrieved April 27, 2008.
External links
- Beechwood Official website
- Belcourt Castle Official website
- Preservation Society of Newport County—Visitor information for many properties in district
- National Museum of American Illustration