Isaac Bell House

	Isaac Bell House
	U.S. National Register of Historic Places
	U.S. National Historic Landmark
	U.S. National Historic Landmark District; Contributing Property
	Front elevation, 2018
Location	70 Perry Street, Newport, RI
Coordinates	41°28′45.75″N 71°18′35.06″W / 41.4793750°N 71.3097389°W
Area	1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built	1881-1883
Architect	McKim, Mead and White
Architectural style	Shingle style
Part of	Bellevue Avenue Historic District (ID72000023)
NRHP reference No.	72000022 (original); 97001276 (NHL)
Significant dates
Added to NRHP	January 13, 1972
Designated NHL	September 25, 1997
Designated NHLDCP	December 8, 1972

The Isaac Bell House is a historic house and National Historic Landmark at 70 Perry Street (at the corner with Bellevue Avenue) in Newport, Rhode Island. Also known as Edna Villa, it is one of the outstanding examples of Shingle Style architecture in the United States. It was designed by McKim, Mead, and White, and built during the Gilded Age, when Newport was the summer resort of choice for some of America's wealthiest families.

History

Isaac Bell Jr. was a successful cotton broker and investor, and the brother-in-law of James Gordon Bennett Jr., publisher of the New York Herald. Bell hired the New York architectural firm of McKim, Mead, and White (Charles Follen McKim, William R. Mead, and Stanford White) to design his summer cottage. Known in Newport for designing Newport Casino, and later in Boston for designing Boston Public Library, they also designed Pennsylvania Station in New York City. Construction took place between 1881 and 1883.

Shingle Style was pioneered by Henry Hobson Richardson in his design for the William Watts Sherman House, also in Newport. This style of Victorian architecture, featuring the extensive use of wooden shingles on the exterior, acquired some popularity in the late nineteenth century. The Isaac Bell House exemplifies this through its unpainted wood shingles, simple window and trim detail, and multiple porches. It combines elements of the English Arts and Crafts movement philosophy, colonial American detailing, and features a Japanese-inspired open floor plan and bamboo-style porch columns. Interior features include inglenook fireplaces, natural rattan wall coverings, wall paneling and narrow-band wooden floors.

During its life, the house has variously been divided into apartments and served as a nursing home. With the help of Carol Chiles Ballard, the house was bought in 1994 by the Preservation Society of Newport County, which won awards for its restoration, and now operates it as a museum.

The Isaac Bell House was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1997.^[2]^[3]

References

^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 15, 2006.
^ ^a ^b "Isaac Bell House". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on August 12, 2009. Retrieved May 4, 2008.
^ John Tschirch; Diane D. Galt; Fred Stachura; Susan Kline; Carolyn Pitts (December 18, 1996). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination: Isaac Bell Jr. House / Edna Villa" (pdf). National Park Service. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) and Accompanying ten photos, exterior and interior, from c.1886, 1950, 1973, 1994, 1995, and undated (32 KB)

External links

Isaac Bell House
Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. RI-308, "Isaac Bell House, 70 Perry Street, Newport, Newport County, RI", 10 photos, 8 measured drawings, 14 data pages
2001 Victorian Society Award
Gilding and wallpaper reproduction firm
Historic carpet reproduction firm

Images

Isaac Bell House ca. 1890
Front East elevation of the house
First Floor plan
Second Floor plan
Isaac Bell House in 2008

[nris-1] "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 15, 2006.

[nhlsum-2] "Isaac Bell House". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Archived from the original on August 12, 2009. Retrieved May 4, 2008.

[nrhpinv2-3] John Tschirch; Diane D. Galt; Fred Stachura; Susan Kline; Carolyn Pitts (December 18, 1996). "National Register of Historic Places Inventory – Nomination: Isaac Bell Jr. House / Edna Villa" (pdf). National Park Service. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help) and Accompanying ten photos, exterior and interior, from c.1886, 1950, 1973, 1994, 1995, and undated (32 KB)

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History

See also

References

External links

Images