Isaac Bell House

Infobox_nrhp | name =Isaac Bell House
nrhp_type =nhl


caption = Front elevation, 2008
location= 70 Perry Street, Newport, RI
lat_degrees = 41 | lat_minutes = 28 | lat_seconds = 45.75 | lat_direction = N
long_degrees = 71 | long_minutes = 18 | long_seconds = 35.06 | long_direction = W
locmapin = Rhode Island
area =
built = 1882
architect= McKim, Mead and White
architecture= Shingle style
designated= September 25, 1997cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=-682686236&ResourceType=Building
title=Isaac Bell House |accessdate=2008-05-04|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service]
added = January 13, 1972 (original) September 25, 1997 (increase?)cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2006-03-15|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]
governing_body = Private
refnum=72000022 (original) 97001276 (increase?)The Isaac Bell House, also know as Edna Villa, one of the famous Gilded Age Newport summer cottages in Newport, Rhode Island was the summer resort of choice for America's wealthiest families. Construction of this Shingle Style home took place from 1881 to 1883.

History

The Isaac Bell House is one of the best remaining examples of Shingle Style architecture; this summer “cottage” was designed for Isaac Bell, Jr. Bell was a successful cotton broker and investor. He is also the brother-in-law of James Gordon Bennett, Jr. publisher of the "New York Herald".

It was designed by the architectural firm McKim, Mead, and White (Charles Follen McKim, William R. Mead, and Stanford White) of New York, NY. Known in Newport for designing Newport Casino and later in Boston for designing Boston Public Library, they also designed the famous Pennsylvania Station in New York. The Shingle Style was pioneered in the design of the William Watts Sherman House also located in Newport RI. This style of Victorian architecture popular in the late nineteenth century and named after the decorative shingles used on the exterior. The Isaac Bell House provides an example of this style through its unpainted wood shingles, simple window & trim details and multiple level porches. It combines elements of the English Arts and crafts philosophy with colonial American details. This home features a Japanese-inspired open floor plan and bamboo-style porch columns. Details include inglenook fireplaces, natural rattan wall coverings, wall paneling and narrow band wooden floors.

It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1997.citation|title=PDFlink| [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/97001276.pdf National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Isaac Bell, Jr. House / Edna Villa] |32 KB|date=December 18, 1996 |author=John Tschirch, Diane D. Galt, Fred Stachura, Susan Kline, and Carolyn Pitts |publisher=National Park Service and PDFlink| [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Photos/97001276.pdf "Accompanying ten photos, exterior and interior, from c.1886, 1950, 1973, 1994, 1995, and undated"] |32 KB]

The home history includes being split up into apartments and serving as a nursing home. This property was purchased in 1994 by the owned by the Preservation Society of Newport County County with the help Carol Chiles Ballard. It is a National Historic Landmark and has won awards for restoration work.

References

External links

* [http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.pnp/hhh.ri0034 Isaac Bell House, 70 Perry Street, Newport, Newport County, RI: 10 photos, 8 drawings, 14 data pages] , at Historic American Building Survey
* [http://tickets.newportmansions.org/mansion.aspx?id=1007 Isaac Bell House]
* [http://www.victoriansociety.org/presawards2001.html 2001 Victorian Society Award]
* [http://www.blackburnrestoration.com/pages/isaacbell.html Gilding and wallpaper reproduction firm]
* [http://www.burrows.com/newburrows.html Historic carpet reproduction firm]