Kingscote & Its Neighbors: Newport Cottage Boom & Bust

Kingscote and Its Neighbors: Newport Cottage Boom and Bust. . , Kingscote was among the earliest summer cottages built in Newport and represents the first wave of the "cottage boom." Newport became the place to build the most innovative designs in American domestic architecture as the rich, fashionable, and famous hired the nation's leading designers to create summer villas. The cottage "boom" had gone "bust" by the 1950s, when modern development encroached on the neighborhood with the creation of shopping centers on the sites of historic buildings., Voice from the Past ,

"Cottages, every thing here is called a cottage, every variety of architecture. Swiss, Gothic, French, Elizabethan, and American, and of every degree of cost, from the humbler structure that is rented for a thousand a year up to the stately mansion in which hundreds of thousands are invested, line the spacious avenues…" , "Newport," Picturesque America, William Cullen Bryant, 1872

, Bellevue Avenue: A Preservation History , The Preservation Society of Newport County , Bellevue Avenue National Historic Landmark District , Bellevue Avenue is a treasury of American architecture from the 19th and early 20th centuries. Generations of the nation's leading architects made Newport a laboratory for design during the city's "cottage" construction boom. This remarkable architectural legacy in American culture was almost lost through demolitions and neglect during the latter half of the 20^th century., This self guided walking tour consists of several history markers along both sides of Bellevue Avenue. Most of the buildings on this tour are private residences. Please respect their privacy., The Bellevue Avenue History Marker Project is sponsored by the Preservation Society of Newport County, a non-profit educational organization dedicated to preserving Newport's architectural heritage., For more stories and photos of the architecture, history and preservation of Bellevue Avenue, visit www.NewportMansions.org and click on "Learn.", ❶ Kingscote (1839-41) , Architect: Richard Upjohn , Addition by McKim, mead and White (1881) , Style: Gothic Revival , . George Noble Jones, a plantation owner from Savannah, Georgia, commissioned Richard Upjohn to design this Newport cottage. It was built on a dirt road, which would become fashionable Bellevue Avenue. , . Richard Upjohn worked on the remodeling of Trinity Church in New York City while he was designing the Jones Villa. In 1857, he became the first president of the newly founded American Institute of Architects. , . In 1863, William Henry King, a wealthy China Trade merchant and member of a prominent Newport family, purchased the Jones villa. Four generations of the King family lived in the house, renaming it Kingscote and adding the dining room, one of the finest interiors in 19^th century America, designed by the firm of McKim, Mead and White. , . The King family bequeathed Kingscote to The Preservation Society of Newport County in 1972. Kingscote is a National Historic Landmark., ❷ Elmcourt (1852-53) , Architect: Unknown , Remodeled by McKim, Mead and White (1882) and Ogden Codman, Jr. (1897) , Style: Italianate , . Elmcourt was built for Andrew Robeson, Jr., an industrialist from Fall River, Massachusetts. , . An abolitionist, Mr. Robeson was a conductor for the Underground Railroad, assisting slaves to freedom. , . The house has had several owners, including Francis Work, a stockbroker from New York. He was a business associate of Commodore Cornelius Vanderbilt, founder of the New York Central Railroad. , . Through Work's daughter's marriage to Lord Fermoy, one of his descendants was Diana, Princess of Wales. , . The house is a private residence., ❸ Ocean House Hotel (1840-44) , Architect: Unknown, possibly Isaiah Rogers , Rebuilt by Russell Warren and Son (1845) , Style: Greek Revival , . The popularity of hotels, such as Ocean House, helped Newport become a popular summer destination. In the mid-19^th century, as Newport evolved into a more exclusive resort, private cottages replaced hotels as the dwelling of choice among summer residents. , . Ocean House burned in 1845, during its first full season. The following year, a new hotel, also named Ocean House, was constructed on the site. , . Local architect Russell Warren designed the second Ocean House in the Gothic Revival style. The hotel burned in 1898, and the lot remained empty until the creation of Bellevue Plaza in 1958., ❹ Bellevue House (1910) , Architect: Ogden Codman, Jr. , Style: Colonial Revival , . Architect Ogden Codman, Jr. designed this house, originally called Berkeley Villa, for his cousin, Martha Codman. He planned the gardens, which were later embellished by the French landscape architect Achille Duchêne. , . Codman had made his reputation with the design of the family bedrooms of The Breakers for Cornelius Vanderbilt II, and with the publication of The Decoration of Houses (1897) with his friend, the writer and Newport summer resident Edith Wharton. The book heralded the rejection of Victorian ornament in favor of classical forms. , . Martha Codman married the Russian tenor Maxim Karolik, three decades her junior. During their twenty-year marriage, they assembled important collections of 18^th century American furniture and 19^th century paintings and drawings, which they donated to the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. , . Broadway star Jane Pickens purchased the estate in 1963, renaming it Bellevue House. Today it is a private residence with continued additions of classical follies and landscape features.,

"Today, [the current owner], a noted preservationist and urban planner, … is currently involved in the renovation of the house and grounds, while preserving the beauty and integrity of the original Codman design … He has created two new garden pavilions, both adapted from Samuel McIntire designs in Salem, Massachusetts … These structures seamlessly integrate with the established architectural framework of the estate." Michael Kathrens, Newport Villas, 2008