Newport Historic District | |
 Colonial architecture at Spring and Church Streets, 2008 | |
   | |
| Location | Newport,RI |
|---|---|
| Coordinates | 41°29′24″N71°18′49″W / 41.49000°N 71.31361°W /41.49000; -71.31361 |
| Area | 250 acres (100 ha) |
| Built | late 17th-late 19th century |
| Architectural style | Georgian,Colonial, mix of later styles |
| NRHP reference No. | 68000001 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | November 24, 1968[1] |
| Designated NHLD | November 24, 1968[2] |
TheNewport Historic District is ahistoric district that covers 250 acres (100 ha) in the center ofNewport in theU.S. state ofRhode Island. It was designated aNational Historic Landmark (NHL) in 1968 due to its extensive and well-preserved assortment of intactcolonial buildings dating from the early and mid-18th century. Six of those buildings are themselves NHLs in their own right, including the city's oldest house and the former meeting place of the colonial and state legislatures. Newer and modern buildings coexist with the historic structures.
It is a major tourist attraction due to its history, its setting on Newport's waterfront and the shops located within it along Thames Street. In 1997, it doubled for mid-19th-centuryNew Haven, Connecticut during the production ofSteven Spielberg'sAmistad.[3] "No comparable collection of colonial buildings exists today in the state or perhaps the nation", saysRhode Island historian William McLoughlin.[4]
The district is described by theNational Register of Historic Places (NRHP) as being roughly bounded by Van Zandt Avenue to the north; Farewell, Sherman, High and Thomas streets on the east; Golden Hill, Thames and Marsh streets in the south and Washington Street on the west, just before the shores ofNarragansett Bay. This area includes theEaston's Point neighborhood and its concentration of colonial houses on the north, Washington Square, the shops and stores along Thames Street near the waterfront, and the blocks inland up the gentle rise to theBellevue Avenue neighborhoods.
Land use varies from commercial, mainly street-levelretailing, along heavily trafficked Thames andAmerica's Cup Avenue to primarily residential along the side streets to the east. The narrowness of these streets, built long before the automobile, has led the city to restrict parking along them to residents with a valid permit.
In 2007 the city proposed increasing the district's boundaries to include the ten-acre (4 ha) common burial ground at the north end, which dates to 1660.[5] As of 2008[update] theNational Park Service has not announced whether it will approve the request.
The historic district is the core of the original city of Newport as it was during the years from its founding in 1639 to theAmerican Revolution, when it served as the colonialcapital. Surviving buildings date from the last years of the 17th century. TheWhite Horse Tavern has stood on the same site since 1652, with the current building dating to 1673. TheWanton-Lyman-Hazard House, built by at least 1697, is the city's oldest house museum.[4] Most of those early homes were simpleclapboard structures invernacular English styles that the colonists had adapted to the locally available materials.
Wood was also used to buildTrinity Church, whose tall whitespire is one of the city's most distinctive landmarks. In the early 1730s, efforts to bring some formalplanning to Newport's development resulted in the construction of two major brick buildings showing heavy influence of theGeorgian style then being popularized inLondon by SirChristopher Wren. TheOld Colony House and theBrick Market stand at opposite ends of Washington Square, then known as the Parade, and were meant to make it the kind of dignified public space found in English cities of the period.
Religious tolerance led to the immigration ofQuakers from Massachusetts, where they were regarded asheretics, and communities ofSephardi Jews fromPortugal. These left their mark with theGreat Friends Meeting House on Marlborough Street, the oldest house of worship in Rhode Island, built in 1699, andTouro Synagogue, the oldest in theWestern Hemisphere.[6] The Quakers settled heavily in Easton's Point, building many of the wooden houses there and naming many of its streets after trees.
The city prospered as it became a more important port, and eventually sea captains who had made their fortunes began to settle down and build larger houses for themselves.[6] One of these homes,Hunter House, another NHL located along the water in Easton's Point, is preserved today for its quality cabinetry, much of it originally manufactured in Newport.[7]
Afterindependence the city lost some cachet whenProvidence, the wartime state capital, became the main capital. Still, thelegislature continued to meet at the Colony House every other session, and held a ceremonial meeting there every April on 'Lection Day, when the results of the state's March elections were announced and the winnerssworn in. It drew crowds from all over the state, and was Newport's major holiday for much of the 19th century.[8]
Throughout most of that century, the downtown area remained a major, although somewhat neglected, port area, sustained by the nearbynaval presence. Fleets were based in Newport, and theNaval War College is nearby, along with other naval facilities along the western shore ofAquidneck Island. Newer buildings in 19th-century styles, particularlyItalianate, were erected along Thames, and many of these were home to businesses that catered tosailors onleave.
In the years after theCivil War, the new rich of theGilded Age began to rediscover Newport as a summer getaway, building larger and larger homes along and near Bellevue Avenue to the east. After the legislature moved to Providence full-time in 1900, depriving the city of some of its economy, the newer residents began to show an interest inpreserving Newport's rich architectural past. They established theNewport Historical Society, and endowed some of their family fortunes towards architectNorman Isham's projects to restore the Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House, the Brick Market and Colony House during the 1920s and '30s.[6] The fight to save the Hunter House from demolition led to the formation of another important local organization, thePreservation Society of Newport County.
Other local efforts concentrated on other houses later on, and they were eventually recognized with the NHL designations of the individual buildings in the early 1960s. The city created the district byordinance in 1965,[9] and it was recognized as an NHL itself in 1968.[2][10]
The loss of the naval fleet in 1971 was a serious blow to the economy, and eventually the city controversially authorized the removal of many oldfactories,warehouses, and historic structures along the water, just west of the district boundary for the construction ofretail facilities such as Brick Market Place and Long Wharf Mall,hotels,condominiums andAmerica's Cup Avenue, a multilane through street whose name reflected thesloop races that then drew crowds to the city every few years.
In the mid-1980s, the America's Cup was finally lost to an Australian team, and left the city. The downtown area adapted by focusing onshopping opportunities for the tourists who were drawn to Newport to visit the many mansions every summer, and promoting its own historic buildings. The historic district retained enough of its character thatSteven Spielberg came there in 1997 to filmAmistad, deeming it a sufficient stand-in for 1840sNew Haven, Connecticut, where the real case took place. The interiors of several historic buildings, especially Colony House, were used as sets for scenes in the film.[3]
Many of the 392 buildings within the district are consideredcontributing properties to its historic character. These include fiveNational Historic Landmarks and other buildings listed on the NRHP in their own right.
Unless otherwise noted, these are managed as museums by theNewport Historical Society.
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 (Bellevue Avenue andOcean Drive) are also recognized as National Historic Landmarks. The city considers them all one large district for its administrative purposes.[9]
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.[9]
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