Newport RI Architecture Survey

“Park Gate” Cottage // 1879

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“Park Gate” Cottage sits on Bellevue Avenue near Touro Park in Newport, Rhode Island and is one of many summer “cottages” for wealthy summer residents. The home replaced the Atlantic House, a large summer hotel formerly on the site. The wood-frame dwelling was designed by Newport architect George Champlin Mason for Seth Bunker Stitt of Philadelphia and constructed in 1879. Mason’s design for “Park Gate” includes many features typical of the Queen Anne style including the asymmetrical facades, wrap-around front porch, tower, and even the small details like dentils, spindle work and balustrades. The house was later purchased by Newport Lodge #104 of the Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks in 1920, who own the building to this day.

Gardner House // c.1847

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This perfect Greek Revival style house sits on Pelham Street in Newport, overlooking Touro Park and the iconic Newport Tower/Old Mill. Built around 1847 for Captain Robinson Gardner, the house exhibits flushboard siding, a heavy portico with wrought iron balcony over the door, and entablature with corner pilasters, all hallmarks of the style. The home became known as “White House” and has likely been painted white for much of its history.

Smith-Cottrell House // 1887

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Located next to the Channing Memorial Church and the Derby Cottage on Pelham Street, this Queen Anne style cottage stands as a significant Victorian era residence on the street dominated by Greek Revival homes. Built in 1878 for a William H. Smith for his residence and office. The home is an excellent example of the Queen Anne style with asymmetrical form and massing, complex roofline with multiple gables and towers, varied siding, and intricate millwork. By the early 20th century, the property was owned by John and Mary Cottrell, and later purchased by the Channing Memorial Church as “Channing House”.

Channing Memorial Church // 1880

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The Channing Memorial Church of Newport, Rhode Island was named in the memory of William Ellery Channing (1780-1842), an ardent abolitionist and founder of the Unitarian faith in America. In 1835, ten men formed the first Unitarian Society in Newport in October 1835 and met in the home of Channing’s grandfather, William Ellery, one of the 56 signers of the United States Declaration of Independence. In 1879, the congregation’s minister, Rev. M. K. Schermerhorn, conceived the idea of a memorial to William Emery Channing, whose centenary would be the following year. He decided upon the ambitious project of a new church building and planning began immediately. On Rev. Channing’s 100th birthday, the cornerstone laying ceremony occurred in 1880. The Victorian Gothic stone church designed by Elbridge Boyden took a year to be completed and was was built from granite, cut in Lyme, Connecticut. Inside, two stained glass windows, the first ecclesiastical commission of John LaFarge, flood the interior spaces with warm colored light. The church looks much as it did when completed almost 150 years ago, thanks to an active congregation preserving this great landmark.

Butler House // 1865

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A true Italian Villa can be found in the dense center of Newport, Rhode Island. This is the Butler House, built in 1865 for physician Samuel Butler (1816-1881) and his wife, Emeline. Dr. Butler was born in Maine and was educated at Harvard before moving to Newport to become a member of high-society there. Besides working as a physician, Samuel Butler served on the Newport School Committee and as a director of the Redwood Library. His house was originally built in 1865 (as the right half) in a late-Greek Revival style as a side-hall house with flushboard siding and pilasters between the bays. As Newport continued to grow in wealth as a summer destination, Dr. Butler modernized his home in 1876, adding the oversized corner tower with round arched windows and bracketed cornice. The two aesthetically opposing styles somehow work well together in this eclectic home, which today, is further enhanced by a color palette to accentuate the two sections.

Littlefield-Van Zandt House // 1836

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In the late 1830s, Captain Augustus Littlefield (1803-1878) purchased a house lot on Pelham Street in Newport, Rhode Island and commissioned housewright John Ladd to design and build his new residence. Littlefield reportedly asked his Ladd to design an “authentic copy of an Italian Villa” he had seen during a trip in southern Italy. The result is a more traditional Greek Revival, temple-front house with a portico supported by four monumental columns with capitals that combine Corinthian and Egyptian lotus motifs. The minimal Italian Villa detail can be seen in the bracketed cornice and in the pediment. Built around 1836, the house remained in Littlefield’s possession until his death in 1878. The property was purchased by Charles C. Van Zandt, attorney and later the 34th Governor of Rhode Island. Gov. Van Zandt died in 1894 and was interred at Island Cemetery in Newport. The Littlefield-Van Zandt House remains a significant early, high-style Greek Revival house in the state and one with a great state of preservation.

Harkness House // c.1730

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The award for the cutest house in Newport goes to this c.1730 beauty on Green Street! This charming Georgian cape house sits just one-and-a-half stories tall under a squat gambrel roof. The house was originally located at the corner of Thames Street and was moved at least twice until it was placed on its present site by the Newport Restoration Foundation, after they acquired it in 1983, restoring it soon after. The center-hall house has just two rooms on each floor with a central staircase and chimney. The small dormers add some light to the second floor without compromising the historic and architectural integrity of the cottage.

Kinsley Building // 1892

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Established in May of 1854, the Aquidneck Bank begun with a capital of $100,000 with Rufus B. Kinsley as its president. The bank became the Aquidneck National Bank in 1865 and continued growing after the Civil War. The directors of the bank eventually left their former building (across Green Street) and moved into this building at Thames and Green Streets, which was built from 1892 to 1893 by local architect Dudley Newton. They named it after the banks founder, Rufus KinsThe Romanesque Revival style block is oriented to the corner and is built of brick and brownstone trim. Arched entrances are a nice Romanesque touch.

Rufus B. Kinsley Building // c.1860

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This large commercial block on Thames Street in Newport was built before 1860 by Rufus B. Kinsley, a businessman who made his money in express companies (think express shipping) in the mid-19th century. He built this structure to rent out and diversify his income by around 1860. Early tenants included two banks: the Rhode Island Hospital Trust Company and the Aquidneck National Bank. The latter would remain here for years before building their own bank across the street.

Langley-King House // c.1710

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Built c. 1710 this amazing Georgian Colonial house would have originally been a smaller, central chimney structure built by Nathaniel Langley. Major remodeling to effect the Georgian style seen today was done by a subsequent owner of the property. That owner was likely John Brown (1694-1764) a wealthy merchant that may have gifted or sold this home to his daughter, Ann Brown and her new husband, Charles Handy. Handy was a merchant and operated a spermaceti factory just to its west. Later owner, David King and his heirs owned the house for much of the 19th century. The house is on its original site and was purchased by the Newport Restoration Foundation (NRF) in 1969 and restored in 1970-71.