- Bellevue Avenue Historic District
Infobox_nrhp | name =Bellevue Avenue Historic District
nrhp_type =nhld
caption = South view down Bellevue
fromVernon Court , 2008
location= Newport, RI
locmapin = Rhode Island
area = 606 acres (242 ha)
architect= Multiple
architecture= Late Victorian, Mixed (more Than 2 Styles From Different Periods)
designated=May 11 ,1976 cite web|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1192&ResourceType=District
title=Bellevue Avenue Historic District |accessdate=2008-02-21|work=National Historic Landmark summary listing|publisher=National Park Service]
added =December 08 ,1972 cite web|url=http://www.nr.nps.gov/|title=National Register Information System|date=2007-01-23|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=National Park Service]
governing_body = City of Newport Historic District Commission
refnum=72000023The Bellevue AvenueHistoric District is located along and around that street in Newport,Rhode Island ,United States . Its property is almost exclusively residential, including many of themansion s built by affluent summer vacationers in the city around the turn of the 20th century. Many of the homes represent pioneering work in thearchitectural style s of the time by major American architects.It was declared a
National Historic Landmark (NHL) in 1976.citation|title=PDFlink| [http://pdfhost.focus.nps.gov/docs/NHLS/Text/72000023.pdf National Register of Historic Places Inventory-Nomination: Bellevue Avenue Historic District] |32 KB|date=February 5, 1976 |author=Carolyn Pitts |publisher=National Park Service] Several of the mansions within it had themselves attained NHL status as well, or have done so since then. It has become one of Newport's major tourist attractions.Geography
The district takes in an area of 606 acres (242 ha) bounded by
Narragansett Bay andBlock Island Sound on the south and east, Spring Street and Coggeshall Avenue to the west and Memorial Boulevard on the north. This takes in the southeastern quarter of the developed portions of the city on the southwestern neck ofAquidneck Island . Bellevue Avenue itself runs north-south for over two miles (3.2 km) through the middle of the district.Land use within the district is overwhelmingly residential. Most of its 63 buildings are dwellings either in use or originally built for that purpose. Institutional use is the next most common, with many of the historic mansions now used ashistoric house museum s. One,Vernon Court , is home of theNational Museum of American Illustration .Salve Regina University , home to some more historic buildings, including theWilliam Watts Sherman House , is wholly within the district, and there is also a more modern senior citizens home built in the mid-20th century.Commercial properties are clustered near the
Newport Casino at the north end of the district, such as a contemporarystrip mall with supermarket and drugstore just opposite the casino itself. There are some small parks within the district, and the blocks just south of Vernon House on the east side of Bellevue are given over to Stoneacre, a once-private park designed byFrederick Law Olmstead . Many of the larger mansions sit on large lots, leaving plenty ofopen space within the district.History
During the colonial era and the decades after independence, most of Newport's development remained around its downtown area, where port facilities, the mainstay of the city's economy, were. Early in the 19th century, visitors to the city in the summer months came to appreciate the moderating effects of the
sea breeze s and the panoramic ocean views. They began buildingcottage s along the higher ground where Bellevue Avenue, then a lightly-traveled farm path, now runs.In 1839, George Noble Jones, a Southernplantation owner, built Kingscote, aCarpenter Gothic building considered the first of the city's mansions. The Civil War and the years leading up to it slowed further development in the area, but then it picked up again during the economic prosperity of theGilded Age in the later decades of the 19th century. Houses became slightly larger than the original cottages, and experimented with newarchitectural style s. The Casino and theIsaac Bell House inaugurated the Shingle style, where that material was used assiding instead of clapboard.More and more wealthy families were drawn to Newport in the summers, transforming the architecture again.William Kissam Vanderbilt 'sMarble House in 1888 introduced stone as a building material, Beaux Arts as a style, and set a new standard for size. A few years later, his brother Cornelius spent a record $7 million ($150 million in 2008 dollars) onThe Breakers , sitting above the cliffs at Ochre Point on the eastern shore. The Astors expanded the 1851 Beechwood to suit their needs.These houses and their occupants made Newport synonymous with wealth and leisure in the early 20th century.
Tennis andsailing would become associated with the city and the district through thetennis court s in the Casino, which hosted the early tournaments that became the US Open, and theAmerica'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 thePreservation Society of Newport County .This trend toward tourism continued in the years afterWorld War II . The mansions began being converted into museums and opened for tours; theInternational Tennis Hall of Fame opened in the Casino in 1955. The 1962 sale of The Elms, the last of the mansions to be owned and operated by the original family, marked the end of the resort era.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 it applied to the
National Park Service to combine all three and expand them into the current Bellevue Avenue district. 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.ignficant 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
Richard Upjohn ,Richard Morris Hunt andMcKim, Mead and White over their professional careers."Eight of the district's buildings have been designated as
National Historic Landmark s in their own right. Several others are Registered Historic Places. Many are open to the public for guided tours.National Historic Landmarks
*
Isaac Bell House : First Shingle Style house.cite web|title=Bell, Isaac, Jr., House|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=-682686236&ResourceType=Building|publisher=National Park Service |accessdate=2008-04-30]
*The Breakers : Costly Italian Renaissance-style Vanderbilt home is Newport's signature mansion and a symbol of theGilded Age .cite web|title=Breakers, The|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1058&ResourceType=Building|publisher=National Park Service |accessdate=2008-04-30]
*Chateau-sur-Mer : Originally built in 1851, later extensively remodeled inSecond Empire and other late 19th century styles byRichard Morris Hunt . Considered the first of the great Newport mansions.cite web|title=Chateau-sur-Mer|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=-1108232683&ResourceType=Building|publisher=National Park Service |accessdate=2008-04-30]
*The Elms:Horace Trumbauer mansion for coal magnateEdward Julius Berwind was one of the first houses wired for electricity. Classical Revival style imitates Chateau D'Asniére in France.cite web|title=Elms, The|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1059&ResourceType=Building|publisher=National Park Service |accessdate=2008-04-30]
*Kingscote:Gothic Revival 1839 cottage byRichard Upjohn is the first large house in the city built for a summer resident.cite web|title=Kingscote|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1307&ResourceType=Building|publisher=National Park Service |accessdate=2008-04-30]
*Marble House : Hunt's Beaux Arts design forWilliam Kissam Vanderbilt was one of the first stone mansions, and started a trend toward very large homes in Newport.cite web|title=Marble House|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=1143737094&ResourceType=Building|publisher=National Park Service |accessdate=2008-04-30]
*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.cite web|title=Newport Casino NHL|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=893&ResourceType=Building|publisher=National Park Service |accessdate=2008-04-30]
*William Watts Sherman House :Henry Hobson Richardson house, with interiors byStanford White , considered one of his best works. Prototype for the Shingle Style.Cite web|title=Sherman, William, Watts House|url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=881&ResourceType=Building|publisher=National Park Service |accessdate=2008-04-30]Other major properties
*Beechwood: The Astors' Newport home, remodeled from an older one. Today a
living museum with actors playing the family, its guests and staff for visitors.
*Belcourt Castle : Summer home ofOliver Hazard Perry Belmont , built by Hunt in a variety of different styles of the time.
*Rosecliff :Stanford White imitation of Versailles'Grand Trianon , built for silver heiressTheresa Fair Oelrichs .
*Vernon Court Imitation of aGermain Boffrand chateau. Today home to theNational 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.Cite web|title=City of Newport – Department of Planning, Zoning and Inspection – Historic District Commission|url=http://www.cityofnewport.com/departments/planning-zoning/hdc/home.cfm|accessdate=2008-04-27]
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.
References
External links
* [http://www.astorsbeechwood.com/ Beechwood] . Official website
* [http://www.belcourtcastle.org Belcourt Castle] . Official website
* [http://www.newportmansions.org Preservation Society of Newport County] . Visitor information for many properties in district
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