Rhode Island

James L. Hazard House // c.1855

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This beautiful Victorian-era home in Newport was built c.1855 for James Lawrence Hazard, a furniture maker. He did well for himself, selling hand-crafted furniture to summer residents who needed to fill their Newport cottages with fine furnishings. By 1873, he hired local architect Dudley Newton to enlarge and modernize his outdated home. Newton added the wrap-around porch and installed one of his patented roofs. Newton’s roof design, which he called “a new and useful Improved Curb-Roof,” featured a distinctive break where the roof met the building, allowing for better water run-off and creating a fascia that, if ornamented, would provide “a second or additional complete line of finish above and independent of the cornice proper.” The home has long held a stately presence on the iconic Kay Street until the late 20th century when deferred maintenance saw the removal of the wrap-around porch and the covering of other details. In 2012, a fire broke out on the third floor and the interior – which had been carved into six apartments by that time – suffered extensive fire and water damage. Preservationists and residents feared the house would be razed, but fortunately, John Shea of Hammond Residential Real Estate saw an opportunity. He purchased the property in 2013, commissioned the Newport Historical Society to produce a report on its history, and, with plans by Neville Architecture, completed an extensive rehabilitation. The house was fully restored and looks like it did nearly 150 years ago!

Cotton House // c.1720

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One of the oldest houses in Newport, the Charles Cotton House stands on Church Street, and has a similar story to its neighbor, the Langley House (featured previously). The home was built around 1720 and is named for Dr. Charles Cotton who owned it in the early nineteenth century. Cotton was born in Plymouth, MA, and was a direct-descendant of ministers John and Josiah and worked as a surgeon aboard the USS Constitution during the War of 1812. From Newport Restoration Foundation: “The original structure was probably a small, single-chimney house of one-and-a-half or perhaps two stories. The house as seen today was obviously enlarged in the Georgian style in the mid-eighteenth century and received further improvements in the early nineteenth century.” The likelihood of the building’s incremental growth is evident from the two chimneys are not of the same size above the roofline, nor are they in line with each other. Had the house been built new in the later Georgian style, elements on the exterior probably would have been more symmetrical and balanced. This building, like the Langley House was moved by Newport Restoration in the 1970s to save it from the wrecking-ball. In its original place, a parking lot.

Langley House // 1807

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Smack-dab in the middle of Newport, Rhode Island’s dense network of downtown streets, you’ll find Queen Anne Square, a rare bit of open space in a web of alleys and ways. Did you know that this park is only 50 years old? It’s true! In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Newport (and many cities all over New England) were grappling with suburbanization and dwindling tax revenue with people and businesses moving out. Their solution was “urban renewal”, which entailed the razing of buildings and sometimes, neighborhoods which were deemed “blight”. Historic buildings and communities were destroyed with modern planning (high capacity roads and high-rises connected by open space) to take its place. In Newport, this saw the form of America’s Cup Avenue and Memorial Boulevard, which cut through the city to allow for more cars and less-congested side-streets. Years later, planners realized that Newport was without a traditional town common like many New England towns, so they cleared buildings in front of Trinity Church to provide that traditional feeling. At the time, preservationists were trying to save significant buildings, with the Langley House being one of them. This house was set for the wrecking-ball, from Memorial Boulevard’s construction but moved and restored by Newport Restoration in the last hour to the south side of Church Street. Seven years later when Queen Anne Square was built, this house was moved to the north side, saving it once again. This house is a survivor!

William Bottomore House // c.1750

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This well-kept Federal home in Newport was apparently built pre-Revolution, but it was likely significantly altered in the early 1800s for its namesake, William “Billy” Bottomore. “Billy” was born in Bologna, Italy, and moved to Salem, MA, where he possibly met Michele Felice Cornè, a prolific painter and who is credited in making tomatoes mainstream… seriously. In early 19th century New England tomatoes were thought to be deadly poison. Cornè was accustomed to eating tomatoes in his native land of Italy and would regularly eat them without ill effect and, thus, allayed the fears of the residents of his adopted country. Cornè became friends with Bottomore and they both moved to Newport. Bottomore likely modernized this house with help from his friend and ran a confectionery store in the home.

John Bush House // c.1845

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Here is another of my favorite non-Gilded Age houses in Newport, the John Bush House on Mann Street! John T. Bush (1817-1881) was listed in directories as a “wool-puller” which clearly was a lucrative job, as he could afford to build this high-style Gothic Revival home. This house is heavily influenced by the publications of Andrew Jackson Downing first published in 1842, so the house is probably built within a couple years of that date. Hallmark features of the Gothic Revival style include: lancet windows, bargeboards, windows with drip molds, and steeply pitched roofs; this house has all of the above!

Levi Gale Mansion // 1835

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One of my favorite houses in Newport, Rhode Island is this amazing high-style Greek Revival mansion across from the Touro Synagogue. The house was built in 1835 for Levi Gale, and designed by esteemed Rhode Island architect Russell Warren. Gale was born in New Orleans and moved to Newport and is listed as a merchant. It is possible that Levi Gale was involved in the Triangular Trade, the trading of enslaved people, sugar (often in its liquid form, molasses), and rum between West Africa, the West Indies and Rhode Island. Many do not realize, but Rhode Island was heavily involved in the slave trade. The house follows the more traditional Federal form, but with two-story composite pilasters and flush siding, scored and painted white to resemble ashlar marble. The home is elegantly sited, but it is actually not on its original lot. It was actually built adjacent to Washington Square, in the place of the present Newport County Courthouse, and was moved to its present site in 1925. The mansion was cut in half, moved a block away, and re-assembled on a new foundation. It is now used as a Jewish community center, owned by the congregation that owns Touro Synagogue.

Peckham Houses // c.1855

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On a little stretch of Kay Street in Newport, you can find four strikingly similar Italianate style houses, all neighbors. Upon further research, it turns out they were designed by the same man, Job Peckham. Job Almy Peckham (1807-1885) was a descendant of one of nearby Middletown’s “founding” families. He ran a lumberyard and began working as a housewright, building homes. He was a believer of the philosophy “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”, so he built many of his houses in a sort of cookie-cutter way, but each showcasing slight design changes. One of the most impressive features of these homes is the massive overhanging eaves with scrolled brackets. Peckham’s own house (bottom right) is included in the bunch. What do you think of these homes?

Townsend Industrial School // 1894

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Located next to and predating Newport City Hall (a previous post), the Townsend Industrial School building is a great, eclectic Victorian-era building in Newport, that is often overlooked. The school itself evolved from a vocational school for women, that Katherine Prescott Wormeley began in town in 1872. The school taught pupils “not destined for classic education” but taught them skills that they would be able to use in the “real world”. The school was located next to the Rogers High School (demolished in 1957), which provided a more traditional education. The building was designed by Newport architect James C. Fludder and has maintained its stately presence to this day. The building has been acquired by the City of Newport, who added a Post-Modern addition, and it is now known as the Frank E. Thompson Middle School.

Armington House // c.1863

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This beautiful mansard-roofed home in Newport was long the residence of the Armington Family. The history is a little murky, but deed research shows the property was purchased in 1863 by Horace E. Armington, a Boston tailor. Horace likely purchased an earlier home and from it, built this larger, Second Empire style house to serve as a summer retreat. The family eventually settled in Newport full-time and their son, also Horace, took a job as Assistant Librarian at the Redwood Library in town. The family owned the property for generations until it was converted to professional office use, likely due to the commercialization in the 20th century of the main streets in Newport. The house retains much of its original detailing including the rooftop belvedere. The later-added shingle siding adds a rustic touch.

Touro Jewish Cemetery and Gate // 1677

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Located just a short walk from the oldest extant Jewish synagogue in the United States, Touro Synagogue (last post), the Touro Jewish Cemetery and stately gate, showcase the significance and position Jewish residents held in Newport, going back to Colonial times. The earliest Jews in Newport arrived from Barbados, where a Jewish community had existed since the 1620s. They were of Spanish and Portuguese origin; their families had migrated from Amsterdam and London to Brazil and then to islands in the Caribbean. After the completion of the synagogue in 1763, the Jewish community in Newport realized the need to acquire land for a Jewish cemetery. Two of the original immigrants, Mordechai Campanal and Moses Pacheco purchased the lot at the corner of what is now Kay and Touro Streets for this purpose. In 1843, the cemetery funded the erection of a cemetery gate and fencing to surround the plot. They hired architect Isaiah Rogers to design the gate, which he took inspiration from his design at Boston’s Granary Burying Ground, completed just two years earlier. The Egyptian Revival gate is a very rare example of the style in the United States. On the granite gate, the torches turned to face downward are an acknowledgement of the ending of life’s flame.