Newport Casino
Newport Casino | |
Contributing Property | |
Location | Newport, Rhode Island, U.S. |
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Coordinates | 41°28′56″N 71°18′27″W / 41.48222°N 71.30750°W |
Area | less than one acre |
Built | 1879 |
Architect | McKim, Mead & White |
Architectural style | Shingle Style |
Part of | Bellevue Avenue Historic District Bellevue Avenue/Casino Historic District (ID72000023 72000024) |
NRHP reference No. | 70000083 |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | December 2, 1970[1] |
Designated NHL | February 27, 1987[2] |
Designated NHLDCP | December 8, 1972 |
Designated CP | December 8, 1972 |
The Newport Casino is an athletic complex and recreation center located at 180–200
The casino was added to the
1879 – 1900
James Gordon Bennett, Jr. was a summer resident of Newport and in August 1879 paid $60,000
The Newport Mercury does not confirm the polo-pony exploits by Bennett and Captain Candy, but rather states Candy was dismissed from the Newport Reading Room "for a clear violation of the rules of that institution."[8] Nonetheless, Bennett had already been in discussions with Charles McKim in 1879 about converting his summer home Stone Villa into a social club. However, he then decided to acquire the vacant lot across the street and commission McKim and his partners, William Mead and Stanford White to bring to life a facility that would allow for both private and public areas. The blueprints for the Newport Casino were drawn up by the end of 1879. The construction was overseen by local contractor Nathan Barker. Ground was broken for the construction on January 8, 1880. With an estimated construction crew of 200-300 laborers, the Newport Casino opened to its first patrons in July 1880, and the general public got their first view in August 1880.[9]
Charles McKim oversaw the main design of the physical building. William Mead's role was as engineer and financial organizer. Stanford White was responsible for the design of the interior spaces, including furniture, as well as the Casino Theatre. The completed main building consisted of a three-story clubhouse; the ground floor had open-air porches and Bellevue Avenue facing storefronts, the second floor housed the billiards room, club and reading rooms, and lodgings, while the third floor contained additional lodging rooms and attic spaces. At the rear of the property is a two-story porch that connects the Court Tennis building and the Casino Theatre building. Taking many elements and cues from the Japanese Pavilion at the
A theatre located at the rear of the property (extant) was completed in 1881. Originally, its 500 seats were removable for dancing and the building was the scene of many social occasions for fashionable Summer visitors in the Gilded Age. One such attendee and early performer who lectured at the theatre in 1882[10] was Oscar Wilde.
The
1900 – 1954
The first half of the 20th century was unkind to the Newport Casino. The Gilded age drew to a close with the onset of the Depression, and the Newport fell by the wayside as a summer resort for the wealthy and powerful. The Casino struggled financially as a social club right from the start, and by the 1950s the Casino was in sad shape. Like many of the mansions, there was the very real possibility that it would be demolished to make way for more modern retail space.
Candy and Jimmy Van Alen took over operating the club, and by 1954 had established the International Tennis Hall of Fame in the Newport Casino. The combination of prominent headliners at the tennis matches and the museum allowed the building to be saved.
It stands today as one of the finest examples of Victorian
1955 – Present
The complex of buildings has undergone tremendous restoration during the modern era.
At the rear of the property is a two-story porch that connects the Court Tennis Building and the Casino Theatre, both original to the Newport Casino complex built in 1880. The
The Hall of Fame Museum's exhibition galleries which exist on the second floor of the main Newport Casino building have been created in a series of renovations, first in the 1970s, then in the 1990s, and most recently in 2014–2015. In the 1990s, the third floor of the main building was renovated into a suitable repository for the storage and study of pieces in the
Recently several large construction projects have helped reshape the campus. In 2014, a steel indoor tennis building and gas station were demolished and a 19th-century cottage was relocated to create space for a large new structure designed in the
Buildings
The complex includes:
- The Casino (shops, a restaurant, offices, and the International Tennis Hall of Fame Museum)
- Horseshoe Piazza and Court
- Bill Talbert Stadium
- Court Tennis Building (The National Court Tennis Club)
- Casino Theatre – restored and managed by Salve Regina University Department of Performing Arts
- Indoor tennis courts (Newport Casino Indoor Racquet Club)
- Various grass tennis courts (Newport Casino Lawn Tennis Club)
Sports
The Newport Casino was never a public gambling establishment. Originally, "casino" meant a small villa built for pleasure. During the 19th century, the term casino came to include other buildings where social activities took place.
In its heyday during the
Today, there is still an active grass-court tennis club, as well as an indoor tennis club. The Newport Casino Croquet Club offers championship croquet play on Newport's grass courts.
The Court Tennis Building, housing the National Tennis Club, is part of the original complex, and was constructed in 1881. The structure lost its roof to a fire during the 1940s but was restored to functionality with a large-scale renovation in 1980, and remains one of the most active courts of its type in the United States.
Gallery
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Newport Casino original façade, 1880
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Newport Casino, Bellevue Ave. façade, 1970
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Newport Casino, Horseshoe Court, 1970
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Bellevue Avenue façade
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Horseshoe Courtyard
See also
- List of tennis stadiums by capacity
- List of National Historic Landmarks in Rhode Island
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Newport County, Rhode Island
References
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ "Newport Casino". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on August 12, 2009. Retrieved June 29, 2008.
- ^ Newport Casino NRHP nomination form
- ^ Interpretive sign on site
- ^ Newport Mercury, August 20, 1879
- ^ "1757-1855 | Newport Mansions".
- ^ Alan T. Schumacher, The Newport Casino: Its History, Newport Historical Society, 1987
- ^ Newport Mercury, August 20, 1879
- ^ Tennis and the Newport Casino, International Tennis Hall of Fame & Museum, (c) 2011
- ^ Cooper, John. "Oscar Wilde in Newport". Oscar Wilde in America. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
- ISBN 978-0-7385-7482-0.
- ^ "Annual Rhody Awards 2010". State of Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
- ^ "2010 Rhody Awards Program" (PDF). Preservation Rhode Island. Retrieved April 25, 2021.
External links
- Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. RI-331, "Newport Casino, 186–202 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, Newport County, RI", 21 photos, 21 data pages, 1 photo caption page
- Description of the Casino Theatre
- Official site of the International Tennis Hall of Fame*
Preceded by first venue |
Home of the U.S. Championships 1881–1914 |
Succeeded by West Side Tennis Club 1915–1920 |