NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK NOMINATION

NI’S Form 10.9W . USDIJNPSNRHP RegistrationForm Rev. 8-86 0MB No. 1024-0018

BELL, ISSAAC, JR. HOUSE . Page 1UnitS States Dtpartment of the Interior. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Registration Form

1. NAME OF PROPERTY

Historic Name:BELL, ISAAC, JR. HOUSE

Other Name/SiteNumber: EDNA VILLA

2. LOCATION

Street& Number: 70 Perry Street Not for publication: N/A

City/Town: Newport Vicmi . N/A

State: RhodeIsland County:Newport Code: 005 Zip Code: 02840

3. CLASSIFICATION

Ownershipof Property Categoryof Property* Private: Buildings: ..L

Public-Local: . District:Public-State: Site:Public-Federal: Structure:* .

. Object:

Number of Resources withinPropertyContributing Noncontributing_.L. _.D_ buildings

sitesstructures

____

objects0 Total

Number ofContributingResources PreviouslyListed in the National Register:.]...

Nameof RelatedMultiple PropertyListing: N/A

Desfnted aNA11DAL H 3i.V V f,‘‘DMARK on

1991

by the decctiar i We lnteror

NJ’S Focus 10-900 IJSDl/NPS NRHP Registration Form Rev. 8-86 0MB No. 1024-0018

BELL, ISAAC, JR. HOUSE Page2United Slates Dq,anment of the Interior, National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Registration Form

4. STATE/FEDERAL AGENCY CERTIFICATION

As the designatedauthority underthe National Historic PreservationAct of 1966, as amended, I herebycerti!’ that this _X.. nomination

____

requestfor determinationof eligibility meets thedocumentationstandards forregisteringpropertiesin the National Registerof Historic Placesand meets theproceduralandprofessionalrequirementsset forth in 36 CFR Part60. In my opinion, the property

____

meets

____

doesnot meetthe National RegisterCriteria.

Signatureof Certifying Official Date

Stateor FederalAgency and Bureau

In my opinion, the property meets doesnot meet the National Registercriteria.

Signatureof Commentingor Other Official Date

Stateor FederalAgency and Bureau

5. NATIONAL PARK SERVICE CERTIFICATION

I hereby certifythat this propertyis:

_____

Enteredin theNational Register

____

Determinedeligible for the NationalRegister

_____

Determinednot eligible for theNational Register

____

Removedfrom theNational RegisterOther explain:

_______________________________________________

Signatureof Keeper Date of Action

NPS Form 10-900 USDI/NPS NRUP Registration Form Rev. 8.86 0MB No. 1024-0018

BELL, ISAAC, JR. HOUSE * Page 3United States Dqnrtnsent of the Interior, National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Registration Form

6. FUNCTION ORUSE

Historic: Domestic Sub: SingleDwelling

Current:Recreation& Culture Sub: Museum

7. DESCRIPTION

ARCHITECTURAL CLASSIFICATION: Late Victorian: Shingle Style

MATERIALS:Foundation: GraniteWalls: Wood shingles, brickRoof: Wood shinglesOther: Brick

NJ’S Form lO’900 USD1/NJ’S NRHP Registration Form Rev. 8-86 0MB No. 1024-0018

BELL, ISAAC, JR. HOUSE Page4United Stales Dqaztnienl of the Interior. National Park Service National Register of Historic PlacesReeisiration Form

Describe Presentand Historic PhysicalAppearance.

The IsaacBell Houseis set towardsthe backof a cornerlot createdby PerryStreetandBellevueAvenue. Thereis a spaciouslawn in front of the eastfacadefacing Bellevue Avenue.The original, curved entrancedrive is on the southernborderof the property, giving accesstoPerry Street. Althoughtherehave beenchangesto individual planting, the overall integrityofthe original site design remainsgood. TheBell HoUse wasbuilt between1881 and 1883 bythe architectsMcKim, Meadand White. It is a significant exampleof the ShingleStyle;distinguishedby the opencharacterof its planand the complex compositionof its facades.The building is oneof the earliestcommissionsOf McKim, Meadand White, and it representstheir most sophisticated approachto the developmentand refinementof the main featuresofthe shinglestyle. As such, it is a landmarkof late 19th centuryAmericanarchitecturerepresenting a turning pointin the designof picturesque woodenhouses. The exteriorof thehouse hasa redbrick first floor andupper floors sheathed inshinglesarrangedin innovativewave and diamondpatterns. The facadeshavefeaturesborrowedfrom the colonial era, suchassweepinggablesand small-panedwindows surmountedby stylizedfan motifs. Oneof themost striking aspectsof the BellevueAvenue facadeis the seriesof first-andsecond-floorporcheswith slenderbamboostyle supports, reflecting the architects’ interestin combiningJapaneseinspired formswith the building’s colonial elements. The bracketsof the mainentrance are madeup of fanciful dolphins. Thesimple, substantialmassof the house, whichVincentScully described as"the balloon framesheathedandexpressed asclosedbox," ispunctuatedon thesouthby a semi-circular,two-story tower. The eastfacadeis definedby apair of largethird-storygables. The north facadehasone greatgableand the walls aresheathedin shinglesforming a largediamondpattern. The westfacadeis the least visible,comprisingsimplebrick and shingledwalls with two dominantgables. The flat surfaces aredelineatedby delicatedetailing, narrowwood cornices,thin wood framesat thedoorandwindow openings,and the subtle contrast between commonbrick andpressedbrick. Eachstory of the houseis also clearly markedby woodencornicesand string moldings that formaseriesof continuouslines unifying all of the facades. The foundationis of graniteandsupportsthe brick of the first story. The porch extendsalong thesouth andeast elevationsandis an exterior expressionof theopen, flowing planof the first floor rooms.The bamboo inspiredwood columnssupporta porch roof of shinglesthat createsa seamlessappearanceof wood shinglesfrom thevery rooftop of the houseto the first floor.

Therehave been alterationsto the house. Theseinclude a library additioncirca 1897-1898to the southwesttower and a room andporchaddedto the west elevationin the 1920’s. ThePreservationSociety of NewportCounty, whichpresentlyowns the house, commissionedthefirm of Mesick, Cohen, Wilson, Baker,Architects to preparean Historic StructuresReportonthe building. The report,completedin May of 1995, researchedand documentedthe historyof the building, including its alterations. *The report notedthat the houseis in good physicalcondition, retainingits historic integrity with few exterioralterationsto changethe appearanceof the house in the more thanone hundredyearsof its history. Mostof the woodenshingleson the facadeshad been replaced,the main roof and thoseof the porcheshadbeen recoveredin composition shingles,the wooden shuttershadbeenremoved,andtherehad beenminorrepairsto thebrickwork of the piazzas. In the eastfacade,there are threewindows which losttheir original fan-shaped decorations.The Historic Structures Reportalso notedthegarage

NI’S Form lO-I0 USD1/NI’S NRHP Registration Form Rev. 8.86 0MB No. 1024.0018

BELL, ISAAC, JR. HOUSE Page5United states Dqaitment of the Interior. National Park Service National Re,ister of Historic Places Registration Form

andstableindicatedby insurancemaps, which hadceasedto existon the siteafter 1897-1898.Theexterior of thehouseis in the processof being restoredby Mesick, Cohen,Wilson,Baker, Architectsaccording to thedocumentationin the Historic StructuresReport. Thefacadesand roofhavebeenreshingledwith wood shingles,andthe fan-shapeddecorationsofthe third story windows in theeastfacadegablehave beenrecreated.All of theoriginalarchitecturalfeaturesand decorativedetailsarebeing conservedand will be returnedto theiroriginal locations.

First floorThe interior of the Bell Houseis recognizedby scholarsto be one of McKim, Mead andWhite’s most successfuldomestic interiors.The architectsconsideredthe finish andpresentationof the interior asan integral andimportantpartof theBell House. They drew ontheir knowledgeof painting, sculptureanddecorativearts, and thoroughly incorporatedtheminto the Bell House ina unifiedcomposition. The decorativedetailswere inspiredby EnglishArts and Craftsand Queen AnneRevival sources,as well as AmericanColonial, Japanese,MoorishandFrenchmodels. Thiswas the early periodin thecareersof McKim, Mead andWhite, whentheycollaboratedwith artistsand craftsmen,such as JohnLaFargeand LouisComfort Tiffany. McKim, Mead and White’s interiorsat the Bell Housearea fully developedAmericanexpressionof the EnglishAestheticmovement,which combinedboth Europeanandexoticmotifs in an originalmanner.

The interior of the Bell House extendsfrom a large, carefullyproportionedand detailedcentral hail, whichis the main featureof the interior. Oneentersthe housethrough avestibule into the hall at the centerof the building. Both spacesare darklylit in contrastto thebrighterreceptionrooms. The focal pointof thehall is an inglenook fireplace.To the right isthereceptionroom and to the left is a study locatedjust off of the fireplaceinglenook. Thefireplace hasan extendedhearthrunningfrom the study wall to thestairs. From thestairlanding, two large,double-hungstainedglasswindows light thehall.

The first floor is distinguishedby its openplan, achievedby the useof largesliding doorswhich open from themain receptionrooms on to the centralhall. Roomsmay be closedoff forprivacy, or the mainroomsof the first floor may be openedup creatinga continuous,flowingspaceextendingfrom thecentralhall throughthe dining, drawingand receptionrooms ontothe piazzasand the grounds. Architectand critic Arnold Lewis consideredthe Bell Housetobe "a bold artistic venture.The designers rejectedthe safe road--order,dignity, provensolutions--in favorof spatialexcitement, contraststexturesand void, variationmultipleshinglepatterns,asymmetryof parameterand skyline, and mixed material brick belowandshingleabove."’

Eachof the primary spacescentralhall, vestibule,reception, dining,anddrawing roomshasits own uniqueand distinctcharacterachievedby thedifferencesin scale,materialsandlighting. Secondaryspacesare generallymore utilitarianin appearanceand size, includingareasand rooms thatservicethe building: bathrooms,kitchen, storageareas,and staff areas.All of the roomsand functions revolvearoundthe large centralliving hall.

‘Arnold Lewis. American Country Houses ofthe Gilded Age, Plate VII.

NI’S Form 10-90 USD1/NI’S NRHP Registration Form Rev. 8.86 0MB No, 1024-0018

BELL, ISAAC, JR. HOUSE Page6United States Dtpartment of the Interior, National Paik Service National Register of Historic Places Registration Form

VestibuleThevestibuleserves as anintroductionto themuch moreexpansive centralhail beyond. Thetwo spaces featurethe samedark naturalwood finishes.

Living Hail CentralHallThis hall servesas the introductionto an equally fine seriesof adjacentrooms. Thecombinationof natural,earth-tonedfinishes,minimal lighting filtered throughsmall windowpanes,the inglenookfireplace,and the amplebut low expansemakethe hall a warm,shelteringspace.

The hall wasdescribedby architecturalcritic and historian, GeorgeSheldonin 1886.18872:"considerablepainshavebeentaken with thedecorationof the main hall, while at the sametime the effort hasbeento preservesimplicity. The finish is in oak, with a baseeighteeninches high. The mantleis of carvedwood, and on eitherside of the fireplaceis a smallwindow of leadedglass, while in front of it stretchesa hearth five feetwide, of red tile."Above thevertical paneling, theplasterwall is coveredwith someof the original dark greenand gold embossedwallpaper. The ceilingis also paneledin oak.

All of the woodwork, including the paneledceiling, retainsthe original naturalfinish. In thecenterof theceiling is a perforatedbrassbrazier coverset within a squareframeof oak beamsand surroundedby brass tacksapplied in a Moorish floral pattern. The.narrowwall surfaceabovethe high wainscotretainsthe original floral-patternedwallpaperthat imitates antiqueembossedleather. Thegreen-groundpaperfeaturesfloral and leafpatterns coveredin metallicgold. The heavypaperis securedto the wall with tacksthat are in turn coveredby a narrow,leather-like,heavypaper tape securedwith stampedbrass-headednails.

Thehail openson to the primary rooms. The north wall openson to the diningroom. Theeastwall includesthe unusuallywide openingsto the drawing room andthe more conventionaldoorwayto the reception room. Thesouth wall opensto the entry vestibuleandhasa door tothelibrary. The west sideof the hall is dominatedby the inglenook fireplaceand the grandoak stairway. Anadjoining doorwayprovidesaccessto the servicewing. Theset of fourdrawing room doorsaresuspendedfrom an overhead trackand slide backin the mannerofJapanesescreen partitions. Theyhangby iron strapsfrom bronzeJapaneseinspired wheelswhich roll along the overheadtrack. In the hall, the Bell family placeda very large,muted,red and blue orientalcarpet whichsurvivesand is currently in storageat the PreservationSociety of NewportCounty. Other extantBell furnishings include a pair of upholsteredarmchairswith turned legs and an elaboratelycarveddolphin-leggedtable of the type dating tothe1860s-1870s,A bracket clock restson a shelf affixed to the south wall.

Fireplace/AlcoveThis alcove is oneof the fine architecturalcompositionsthat makethe Bell Housesosignificant and it is unique among the featuresdevisedby the architects. The three recessedwalls of the inglenook are fully paneledwith dark oak woodwork. In this area thereis an

2George Sheldon, as cited in Arnold Lewis, AmericanCountry Housesof the Gilded Age. Sheldon’s "ArtisticCountry Seats", Dover Publications, Inc., New York, 1982, p. xvi.

Nfl Form l0D USDI/NPS NRHP Registration Form Rev. 8-86 0MB No. 1024-0018

BELL, ISAAC, JR. HOUSE Page7United Slate, Dqartment of the Interior, National Paik Service National Register of Historic Place, Reuislration Form

assemblageof variouspiecesof woodwork, someold at the time of installation, somecontemporary. The antiqueportionof the woodworkconsistsof an elegant framewhich formsthe openingto the north wall. Thiswas partof an antique Breton bedstead fromFrance. Anintricately carved screenthat incorporates spindlewheels,panels,and inlaid wood opensto thestairway. Thereis a built-in benchto one side of the fireplace. Theinglenook was aromanticinterpretationof the low, sheltering hearthsof Medieval Englishand EuropeanfarmhousesandtheColonial housesof America.

The tile-faced openingof the broad fireplaceis centeredin the west wall. Inside the firebox,thebackis lined with a castiron panel embellishedwith fleur-de-lis and squareearthenwaretiles. A movablewoodenbenchin this area,with one armand a pair of turnedlegs, sitsagainstthe south wall. A largewood-burningstovejuts out from the inglenookfireplaceand ared-vinyl benchsurroundsthe hearth. The floral patterns inthe windows seenin the 1886illustration wereneverexecuted.

DrawingRoomFrom the centralhail, oneentersthe drawing room througha very wide openingwith fourmultiple-paneledoak slidingdoors. Following a traditional nineteenth-century precedent,thisroom and a smalleradjoining receptionroom are themostformal rooms in the house. Thesliding doorson the west wall may open toexposemostof the formal roomsto the informalcentralhall. The largewindows on the drawing room’s eastwall openonto the piazzaandgrounds. The drawing roomis a light filled contrastto the darkcentralhail.

The flexibility of such planning allowedfor the centralhall, drawing room and piazzato beopenedup asone unit, or to be closed downand compartmentalized- a tradition taken fromtraditionalJapanese domestic design muchadmiredby McKim, Mead and White.

The decorationof thedrawing room is dominatedby a projecting chimneybreast thatincludesa fireplace, mantle,and overmanteldecoratedwith delicateclassicalornament. The fireboxislined with small, square glazed whitetiles, and the openinghasa brassedging.

ReceptionRoomThe ReceptionRoomfeaturesa tulip motif on thewalls, ceiling andfireplace. The fireplace,with its decorativetiles and finely carvedovermantelenframinga mirror, is theprimaryfeatureof the room. Theplanof the roomincludesa wide openingwith pocketdoorsto thedrawing room anda singledoor to the centralhall.

The projecting chimneybreastincludes the decorativefireplacemantleand overmantel. Thefire back is decoratedwith a flaming urn flankedby a teapotand chocolatepot. The openingis trimmed with a brassframeand hand-paintedand glazedtiles. A narrowglasspanel,set ina metal frame, is positionedat thetop of the opening. The surroundis flankedby flat woodpilastersand thin, baluster-likepoststhat extendupwardto the topof the overmantel. Abovea shallow projectingshelf is the large,rectangularbeveledglassmirror, flankedby pairsofsmall, semi-circular shelves.

NPS Form 10-900 USDI/NPS NRHP Registration Form Rev. 8-86 0MB No. 1024-0018

BELL, ISAAC, JR. HOUSE Page8United States Dq*rtincnt of the Interior. Natiànal Park Service National Register of Historic PlacesRegistration Form

LibraryThepresentform of thelibrary is not an original partof the Bell Housedesign. Thisroomwas enlargedin 1897 during thesubsequentBargerfamily ownership. This alterationmorethan doubled thesizeof this room, and included a new centralfireplace flankedby doorwaystoward thesouth. Becausethis room was usedas a readingand study area, built-inbookcasesat variousintervalsare locatedon the lower portionof theeastandthe west walls. Althoughthe Bargerfamily alteredthis room, it is possiblethat the4-1/2 foot high built-in bookcasesandwainscotesurvive from the IsaacBell era. There aretwo curvedwindows in the southwall. The upperwalls areplaster coveredwith embossed wallpaper.The fireplace withmarble facing hasa mantel shelf supportedby Ionic columnsandthe overmantelmirror isframedwith Corinthian columns.

Dining RoomThe Dining Room is a finely craftedand designedspaceincorporatingcolonialAmerican,EnglishAestheticand Easternmotifs. Theroom hasmany of the sameelements, such asabuilt-in sideboardandcolonial inspiredpaneling,asthe dining roomof "Kingscote" inNewport, which McKim, Meadand White hadjust completedin 1881.

Thedoorwayin theeast wallopensto an expansivecovered porchthat wasusedby theowners,when entertaining large numbersof guests,or simply for family living. Theporchfeaturesfour bamboostyle columnsof Japaneseinspiration.

The fireplaceis centeredon the northwall andfeaturesa largefirebox with anornamentalcast-ironfife back. The fireplaceis facedwith red marbleandthe hearthis composedof bricklaid in a herringbonepattern. An overmantelcontainslargebuilt-in cupboards. The slenderpartssurroundingthe fireplacehave net-like woodenscreensand aretoppedby scrolledbrackets decoratedwith a basketweave patternwhich wouldhavecomplementedtheoriginalrattan wall covering.

Themahoganybuilt-in buffet in the westwall has doorswith filigreed brasshardwarein theMoorishstyle. It is describedin greatdetail in GeorgeSheldon’scommentaryon this room.3Severaloriginal armchairs that are stored inthe attic may have beenused in the DiningRoombecause these chairs are similar, if notidentical, to the dining chairsat Kingscote. Thewallswere originally covered witha wovenrattan. Small sectionsof the rattansurvive in the room.There arealso nine pierced brass roundelsoriginally therewere elevensurviving in theroom. They weremountedon the woven rattanand framedby stripsof wood.

KitchenTheKitchenof the IsaacBell Houseis similar to thosein otherShingle-Stylehousesof theera. It is the largestand most importantroom in the service portionof the house, andislocatedat the greatestdistancefrom theliving areas. A sheet-ironwood rangehood and abuilt-in wood cabineton thesouth wall are thesurviving original kitchen fittings.

‘See, George Sheldon, as cited in Arnold Lewis, AmericanCountryHousesof theGildedAgeSheldon’s "ArtisticCountry Seats",Dover Publications,Inc. New York, 1982, p. xvi.

NI’S Form lO-9 USD1/NI’S NRHP Registration Form Rev. 8-86 0MB No. 1024-0018

BELL, ISAAC, JR. HOUSE Page9Uniled StatesDqnmentof the Interior, National ParkService National Re2isIerof Historic PlacesRegistrationFonn

SecondfloorTheSecondFloor of the IsaacBell Housecontainsfour large bedrooms,two baths,sittingroomlbedroom,a dressingroom, one laundry room and a large stairhall.

The family bedroomson the secondfloor arearrangedarounda large centralhall. Theprimaryfeaturesin the hall are thetwo stairways:the main stair ascending from the first floorand the muchsmaller stairwayleading to the third floor. The principalbedroomsand anadjoining sitting room are arranged to forma connectingsuitealong the eastside of thehail.

Serviceareasalong the north wall originally includedonly large storagerooms, but during theBargerera two largebedroomswerecreatedRooms 209 and208. The former wasanentirely new construction,while the latterwas created froma largerroom 208. Theprimaryfeaturesin thesesimple spacesare theservicestairway, the original gaswall bracketsand asimple gas lanternof the main hall.

Room 201/StairHallTheStairHall is lighted by the monumental pairof leadedclearand palegrey-greencoloredglasswindows. The stairhasoak balustrades,handrailssupportedby square-turn balusters,postsornamentedwith incised fluting above the balustrade,and octagonal newel posts at eachend of the balustrade. Thewalls of thestairwell are coveredwith vertical oak paneling.

Room202/l8edchamher/SittingRoomBecausethis room is convenientlypositionedbetweenRoom207, Mr. Bell’s bedroom,andRoom203, Mrs. Bell’s bedroom,this may haveservedas ajoint sitting roomor sparebedroom. The roomhas finelyrendereddetails, including a fireplacemantelwith a Chineselattice patternand doorwayswith cornerblocks carvedwith sunbursts.A window/doorleadsout to the northeastporch.

Room203/BedroomMrs. Belt’s BedroomThis bedroomhasan elaboratedecorative program.Thesouthwall is the mostintricatelydesignedschemecomposedof a bay window, a fireplaceandbuilt in cabinetsand niches. Thebay windows areseparatedby slender colonettes.The fireplace openingis also flankedbycolonetteswhich supportovermantelshelveswith spindlework. Next to the fireplace arebuiltin cabinetswith three arched niches,two serving ascabinetswith glassdoors. The centralopen niche is decoratedwith a stylized shell motif. A 2 ½ foot plasterfrieze encircles theroom. The friezesimulatesa wovenbasketweavepattern,which is contemporarywith asimilar plasterwall treatmentat McKim, Meadand White’s NewportCasinoTheater.

The small adjoining room Room204 with its built-in wardrobeswas used asa dressingroom. The center doorwayin the north wall opensto a closetwith built-in chest,and a shortpassageleading to Room202.

Room 204/DressingRoomThis Dressing RoomservedBedroom203. The roomcontainstwo wardrobesinstalled by theBarger family and an incandescentsingle-armwall fixture of the 1930sor 40s.

NPS Form l0-90 USD!/NPS NRHP Registration Form Rev. 8-86 0MB No. 1024-0018

BELL, ISAAC, JR. HOUSE . Page10United StatesDcjmnnentof the Interior. National Park Service National Registerof Historic PlacesRegistration Form

Room 20S/BedchamberThe mostsignificantarchitecturalfeature in this guestbedroomis the broad, curvedwall thatforms the southend of the room. This room and Room207 arethe only bedroomsthat haveadjoiningbathrooms.The fireplacecomprisesa complete unitincorporatingbuilt-in cabinetsandshelves.

Room 206/BathroomThe tile surfacesand thefixtures of this principalbathroomdateto the Bargereraafter 1891.The bathroomhassix-inch squarewhite Minton tiles, marbleslabs locatedbeneaththelavatory, toilet and bathtub, anda chinabasinset in a marbleslabsupportedby nickel platedbronzelegs.

Room 2071Mr. Bell’s BedroomAlthough this is the largestof the second-floor bedrooms,and has an adjoining bathroomandprivateporch, the decoris plain. Theserooms may haveoriginally beenuseden suite withRoom202, whichmay have beena sitting room sharedwith Mrs. Bell’s room Room203.

Room208This large room has carefully treatedwindow and doortrim. Sometime after 1899, the roomwas divided for the Bargerfamily. A new, smaller frontroom servedthefamily, but the rearroom wasprobably a servant’sbedroom. Thepartitioning of this room was removedsometime after 1969.

Room 209This room, datingto the 1920sor 1930s, is an additionto the rearwest sideof the servicewing on the secondfloor. At the first floor level the extensionconsistedof an openporch.The addition replaces partof the narrowbalconyof which only the northend survives.

Room 210The Bargershad thissmall roomcreated from theoriginal Room208 that wasthenenteredfrom a new doorway in the south wall.

Room 211This room wasa storagespacewith the addedamenitiesof built-in cabinetsand a smallwindow.

Room 213This small serviceroom functionsas a laundry room,but the original use remainsunknown.The pipe chaseencapsulatesoneof the bestpreservedand largesamplesof original Bell erawallpaper.

Third Floor/StairHallThe Third Floorof the IsaacBell Housecontainstwo bedrooms,two bathrooms,a nursery,astair hall, servant’shall, two servant’sbedrooms,and several storageareas. Theprimaryspaceof thethird floor is the largeNursery Room 302 which hasa fireplace. Theremainingspaceswere usedby the staffand for storage.

NPSForm 10-900 USDI/NPS NRHP Registration Form Rev 8-86 0MB No. 1024-0018

BELL, ISAAC, JR. HOUSE Page11United SiatesOepanmeraof the Interior. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Registration Form

Thereis a fine leaded-glassskylight situatedin the centralhall.

The large bedrooms which areopen immediatelyoff the centrallypositionedhall, Rooms 302,305, and possibly307 were usedby the family an4 guests. Theservantswere beyond thedoor in the north wall and usedthe rear stair to reachthis floor. A massive,free-standingpine cabinetdominatesthe northwall. This cabinet, similarto thecabinetsin Room 204, hassliding doors, bronze pulls,and opensto a fmely finished interior. This areaalso has Bargerera built-in shelving on the westwall.

Room 302/NurseryChildren’s RoomAs the largestand most finishedthird-floor room, thenurseryservedthe three youngBellchildren Isaac,Norahand Henrietta.

Room303lBedroomfor Nurseor NannyThis small, well-lit room was usedby the Bell children’s nurseor nanny.

Room 304/StoreroomAs well as serving asa storeroom,this spaceprovides accessto the attic stairway.

Room 305The exactpurposeof this room is unknown. Becausethe room was originally heated, itislikely thatthis was either a family bedroom,guestroom, or children’s playroom.

Room307The presenceof servicecall buttonsindicatesthat this room mayhave beena room usedbytheBell or Bargerfamilies, or it is possiblethat thiswas a servant’s room.

Room 308This staff bedroom locatedin the service passagehastwo electric call bells immediatelyoutsidethe room and above thehall door.

Fourth Floor/Rooms401 and 401A/AtticTheattic was usedprimarily for storage. Rooms401A and 402were separatestorageroomsthatcould be secured. Thesignificant featuresof the large centralspace401 include theskylight paneland surroundingbalustradeas well as the largecisterntank.

From IsaacBell to the Bargers,the housesustaineda few changes. In1952, Mrs. Bargersoldthehouse toLeonardJ. DeSantis,who lived in the house foronly one year and then rentedituntil it was sold in 1956 to LouiseC. Kimball andRuth W. Leland. LouiseKimball and RuthLeland operateda nursinghomein the house. In 1971, LouiseKimball’s son,Clive, sold theproperty to Mr. and Mrs. JosephGoing. In 1994, the.Goingssold the houseto thePreservationSociety of NewportCounty. Although the househad several owners from the1950s tothepresent,the building hasretainedits structural integritywith few changes.

NI’S Form 10.900 USD1/NI’S NRHP Registration Form Rev. 8-86 0MB No. 1024-0018

BELL, ISAAC, JR. HOUSE Page12United StasesDq’artmentof the Interior. National Park Service National Register of Historic Placea Registration Form

8. STATEMENT OF SIGNIFICANCE

Certifying official hasconsideredthe significanceof this property in relationto other properties:Nationally:..X. Statewide: Locally:_

Applicable NationalRegisterCriteria: A_ B.2L C.2L. D_

CriteriaConsiderationsExceptions: A_ B_ C_ D_ E_ F_ G_

NHL Criteria: 4

NEIL Themes: ifi. ExpressingCultural Values5. Architecture,LandscapeArchitectureand UrbanDesign

Areasof Significance: Architecture;Social History

Periodsof Significance: 1883-1886

SignificantDates: 1881-1883

SignificantPersons: N/A

Cultural Affiliation: N/A

Architect/Builder: McKim, Mead, and White,Architects

NHL ComparativeCategories:XVI. Architecture

L. ShingleStyle 1880-1900

NI’S Font, 10-930 USDI/NPS NRHP RegistrationForm Rev. 8-86 0MB No. 1024-0018

BELL, ISAAC, JR. HOUSE - Page13United States Dianment of the Interior, National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Reristration Form

StateSignificanceof Property,and JustifyCriteria, Criteria Considerations,andAreasand PeriodsofSignificanceNoted Above.

IsaacBell’s selectionof McKim, Mead and White as the architectsfor his Newportvilla wasan importantturningpoint for the successof the firm andtheartistic developmentof thearchitects. After thecompletionof the NewportCasinoin 1881, theBell Housewasone oftheir first commissionsfor domesticdesignin what would becomea prolific period of thenewly founded firm’spractice. From 1881 throughthemid-i 880s,througha seriesofcommissions,the architectswould formulateand definethe primary features,both in planning,massingand ornamentation.According to architecturalhistorianVincent Scully, theBellHouse standsout asa masterpieceof the architects’ShingleStyle, a style in which the firmplayeda pivotal role as representedin their Newporthouses. From Newport, the ShingleStyle spreadacrossthe nation throughout thetemainderof the late 19th and into theearly20thcenturies.

The IsaacBell Houseis a sophisticated exampleof theShingle Styleby McKim, MeadandWhite, oneof the most creativeandprolific American architecturalfinns. During the courseof the 19th century, Newportwas a veritablelaboratoryfor architecturalexperimentationbythe country’s leading designers. Thecommissionto designa villa at Newport madea nationalreputationfor many young architects,and reconfirmedthe reputationof olderarchitectswhowere well establishedin their careers.TheBell Houseis a critical chapter inNewport’snationally significantrole in patronage, artisticinspirationand architectural excellence.

IsaacBell was a successfulcotton broker and oneof the primary investorsin the transatlanticcable. He was a memberof an old New York family, and retired with a fortunehe hadaccumulatedand irtherited in 1877 at the ageof 31. In 1878, he married Jeanette Bennett attheNewportestateof her brother,JamesGordonBennett,the ownerof theNew York Heraldnewspaper. In the summerof 1879, JamesGordonBennettcommissionedthe constructionoftheNewportCasinoby the firm of McKim, Meadand White. Upon its completionin 1879,the Casinowas an immediatesuccess. It becamethecenterof the summerresort’ssocial life,and reinforcedthe architects’socialandprofessionalreputation. It was only natural that theBells turned to this popularfirm to prepareplans for their Newport house.

IsaacBell, Jr. also becameactive in politics in RhodeIsland, servingin 1884 aspresidentofthe Cleveland and Hendricks club,a groupof prominentRepublicanswho led an independentmovementto defeatJamesG. Blame asthe Republicanpresidential candidate. Withinamonthof taking office, PresidentClevelandappointedBell asMinister Residentto the Court.of the Netherlands.As a result, theBell’s Newporthousewas rented during1886and 1887 toSamuelF. Bargerand his family. After a long illness,Mr. Bell diedon January20, 1889 attheageof forty-two. TheNewponDaily News remarkedthat with IsaacBell’s death thecityhad lost "one of the best aswell asmost conspicuousof her adoptedcitizens,"who "from thefirst had identified himselfwith the local interestsof the town."

NI’S Form 1O- USD1/NI’S Nail? Registration Form Rev. 8-86 0MB No. 1024-0018

BELL, ISAAC, JR. HOUSE Page14United Slates D,axtmentof the Interior, National Park Service National Register of Historic PlacesRegistration Form

In 1891, SamuelBarger,a New York attorney,and his family continuedto rent the house. OnSeptember9, 1891, Bell’s wife, Jeannette,then in Paris, executedtwo deedsto the propertytoSamuelBarger. The Bell family had ownedthe propertyfor almost exactlya decadeand soldit to theBargers.

Uponconveyanceof theproperty in 1891, SamuelF. Bargernamedit "Edna Villa" in honorof his wife EdnaJeanieLaFavor. At the time of Barger’sdeathin 1914, he was identified notasa lawyerbut asa capitalist, who "for a numberof years.- .had not beenactive in the lawprofession." Heservedon the executiveand lawcommitteesof New York CentralRailroad.

The highly respected andenormouslybusy architecturalfirm of McKim, Mead and White,basedin New York, beganin 1874 when Charles FollenMcKim 1847-1909and WilliamRutherfordMead 1846-1920beganto collaborate in theirwork. In 1879 they werejoined byStanfordWhite 1853-1906.

McKim studiedat theprestigiousEcole desBeauxArts between1867 and 1870. Hewas theonly original partnerto havean academicarchitecturalbackground.It was he who establishedits goals, andhe who was seen as the mostinfluential in the history of the finn. Mead’s namewas secondon themasthead. He was in chargeof theoffice and the practicalmanagerof thefirm.

StanfordWhite was oneof the greatestdecorativetalentsAmericahas produced. He was notonly a fine architect,but a designerof lavish interiors, picture frames,magazine covers,jewelry and otherdecorativeobjects.

CharlesFollen McKim and Stanford Whitewere apprenticesto Henry HobsonRichardsonfrom 1874-1875on thedesignfor a housefor Mr. and Mrs. William Watts ShermanonShepardAvenue in Newport. Mrs. Sherman,neeAnnie Derby Wetmore,had grown up at theadjacent estate,Chateau-sur-Mer185 1-1852. Connectionswith leading families such astheShermans andWetmores werea strong recommendation forthe architects’futuresuccess.The Watts Sherman House wasinspiredby the half timberedwalls, greatgables,andinnovative spaceplanningof houses in the"Olde English" or "QueenAnne Revival" styleofthe1860sand 1870sby British architectssuch asPhillip Webb and Richard NormanShaw.Thesearchitects wereinspiredby England’s vernacularpast, asseenin the small manors,taverns andfarmhousesof the countryside. Americanarchitects, particularlyMcKixn, MeadandWhite and their contemporaries,notably RobertSwainPeabodyand JohnGoddardSterns,who built severalNewportvillas including the "Breakers"of 1877 for PierreLorillard,wantedto follow theEnglishexampleand createan American architecturebasedon thecountry’s colonial past.

While being introducedto the most recenttrends in domesticdesignby Richardson,the youngMcKim and White were also engagedin sketchingand photographing18th century buildingsin Newportandother NewEnglandcoastaltowns. McKiin wasparticularly intriguedbycolonial architecture since heand his wife summeredin the Point sectionof Newport, where

1NationalEncyclopedia,2, p. 497.

NI’S Form 10-900 USD1/NI’S Nail? Registralion Form Rev. 8-86 0MB No. 1024-0018

BELL, ISAAC, JR.HOUSE PageISUnited SlatesDepaitmentof the Interior. National Park Service NationalRegisterof Historic Places Registration Fonts

he had remodeledthe old Robinsonand Dennis houseson WashingtonStreet between 1872-1876. Visits to Whitehall, the colonialfarmhouseof the 18th centuryphilosopherGeorgeBerkeley in Middletown, werequite popular, and McKim includeda photographof the rearfacadewith its prominentgable and shingledwalls in theNew YorkSketchbookofArchitecture1874. StanfordWhite was also familiar with Whitehall and nearbyParadiseValley, a meccafor paintersand writers. Whiteinitially wanted to becomea painterand studiedwith JohnLaFarge,who spentseveral summers in ParadiseValley and found the areaa great,sourceofinspiration.

The summersfrom 1874-1879 were crucialin the architects’artistic development.Thetheoriesand practicesof the EnglishArts andCrafts architects,a burgeoninginterestinNewport’s colonialarchitecture,and the vibrantcircle of paintersand writers who gatheredatNewportwould all inspireand influencetheevolution of the ShingleStyle and itsmanifestationin theIsaacBell House.

McKim, Mead and White providedplans for the IsaacBell Housein the summerof 1881 andconstruction began under the supervisionof thegeneralcontractorRE. Readof Hartford,Connecticut. The grounds werelaid out by Thomas Galvin,who had recentlyworkedon thelandscapeof the Casino. Thebuilding wascompletedin the summerof 1883 when the Bellstook up residence.

The greatgables, expansive piazzas, the towerand the shingledfacadesof the Bell Housewereharmoniouslycomposedand receivedmuch favorable àriticismin the press. The firststory of brick, the elaborate compositionof small pannedwindows within the gablesand thestylized decorationof the facades owed muchto the WattsShermanHouseandtheEnglishQueenAnneRevival. However, theBell Housealso brokewith thesesourcesto achieveauniquelyAmerican appearance. GeorgeSheldon,the authorof Artistic CountrySeats1886describedthe house accordingly:

This villa, built aboutfour yearsago, by Messrs. McKim, Meadand White, is of amodernizedcolonial style, the principalfeatureon the eastfront beingthe doublegables...Thesecondstory is of shinglesand the first story of brick.. .All the coursesoftheroof have cut shingles,and thereis a wrought ironfinial on the roof.

Thedescriptionof the house as "modernizedcolonial" displaysthe architects’interest in usingmaterialsand ornament foundin Americanbuildings. The useof wood shingleswas uniquelyAmerican, and shingledfarmhouses, barns,and windmills were foundin abundancein RhodeIsland. The wood shingleswere traditional surfacematerials, butthey wereusedin unusualwave and diamondpatterns. The useof thesehistorical elementsin innovative wayswas thebasisof the Americandesigner’s search forsomethingnew that would proclaim itsseparatenessfrom Europeand be somethingtruly American, combiningthe bestof the pastwith that of the present.

The Bell Houseis a unique combinationof antiquarianinterestin colonial Americanarchitecturewith the most avantgarde Englishapproachesto housedesign. The touchesofJapaneseand Moorish inspireddetailsalso reflect the currentfashion for theexotic extolled by

NPS Form 10-900 USDIJNPS NRHP Registration Form Rev. 8-86 0MB No. 1024-ails

BELL, ISAAC, JR. HOUSE Page 16United States Departmentof the Interior. National Park Service National Registerof Historic PlacesRegistration Form

theEnglish AestheticMovement. Vincent Scully,architecturalhistorianand retired Yaleprofessor, traced thedevelopmentof the style fromits evolution followingthe 1876 CentennialExpositionin Philadelphia,wherethere wasa much-admiredand discussedJapanesehousewith mats, movablescreens,and other spaces,articulatedby its structuralframe. Withadaptationsof certainJapanese elements,the most advancedof the American architects,suchasMcKim, Meadand White, disciplinedand interwovetheir interior spacesand theirporches.Their direct Japaneseinfluences,as found in the IsaacBell House, were fromcontemporaryJapanese"villas". Domesticdesignhad neverbeforeproducedsuch anopen,flexible andvariedset of living spaces. That inventivenesswas expressed through an equal flexibilityofapproachto sectionand massingin theBell House.

The Bell Houseis part of an historic continuum in Americandomesticdesign, beginningwiththe Gothic Revival cottagesof the 1840sand culminating in the housesof FrankLloyd Wrightin theearly 1900s. McKim, Mead andWhite used the standard featuresof early 19th centuryarchitecture, such as towers,sweepingrooflines, enclosingporches,and asymmetricalplansandelevations,in a newand dynamicmanner. The Bell Houseis a unifieddesignthat doesnot slavishly imitate any one historicprecedent,but brings togethermany decorativedetailsandarchitecturalmotifs into one harmoniouswhole. This is the pivotal role itservedininspiring thework of the next generationof architects,and its legacy is seenin the openplanning andmasterfullydesigned"Prairie Houses"of FrankLloyd Wright.

The Bell House is one of Newport’s architecturalmonuments.Newport’s roleas a treasuryofAmericanarchitecturewas aptly statedby Marianna Griswoldvan Rensselaerin "AmericanCountryDwellings"The CenturyMagazine,May 1886.

But to the studentof domesticarchitecture, Newportis the mostinterestingof oursummer colonies.Its history is the longest...Colonial housesareabundant...Its newerportions show a characteristicinstanceof that wayof village planningwhich I havealreadyspokenof aspeculiarlyAmerican-wide streetsof detachedhouses,each withits own small lawnandgarden,and all over-shadowedby thicksetand lofty trees.Here the architectureincludeseverypost-colonialtype: the plain, squarepiazzaedbox;the "vernacular"villa with "Frenchroof" andjig-sawfringing and abnormalhuesofpaint; the pseudo"QueenAnne" cottage;and that still later productwhich is againthoroughly American,but in a newand betterway.

The "later product" was the Modernized Colonialor "Shingle Style" as it hascometo beknown. Scholarshavenoted the importanceof the Bell Houseas the crowningachievementofthe ShingleStyle. Henry-RussellHitchcock includedthe Bell Housein Rhode IslandArchitecture, first publishedin 1939, citing particularly "the bamboo-likepostsof the two-tiered circular porch"asdeservingparticularmention for their graceand ingenuity." 2 ScullycalledtheBell Housea thasterpieceof the Shingle Styleand hailed it as an exampleof the"specific individuality" of McKim, Mead and White’s work duringthe 1880s.3 The house

2Henry-Russell Hitchcock,Rhode IslandArchitectureCambridge:The M.I.T. Press,1939, p.57.

3Vincent .1. Scully, Jr. The ShingleStyleNew Haven: YaleUniversity Press,1955, p. 140.

NPS Form 20-900 USD1/UPSNRHP Registration Form Rev. 8-86 0MB No. 1024-0028

BELL, ISAAC, JR.HOUSE Page17United StatesDepartmentof the Interior, National Park Service National Register of Historic PlacesRegistration Form

was recordedby Historic AmericanBuildings Surveyin 1969 and 1971. The ShingleStylehas, infact, beenfondly referredto as "the first modem Americanstyle" ever sinceVincent J.Scully, Jr. gave it the name inhis book, TheShingleStyle, publishedin 1952.

The yearsbetween1881 and 1885 compriseda short but revolutionary period whenMcKim,Mead and Whitedevelopedand refined theShingleStyle. Newportplayeda seminalrole inthe evolutionof the architects’ work. Theircommissionsfor the NewportCasino1879-1881, and houses forSamuelTilton 1881-1882,IsaacBell, Jr. 1881-1883,Robert Goelet1882-1883,and SamuelColeman1882-1883representthe architects’experimentationwithopenspace planning, the intricatemassingof facadesinto unified compositionsof gablesandpiazzas,and the establishmentof a vocabularyof ornament,both exterior and interior, thatwas a modernsynthesisof historic modelsfrom colonial America, England, Europeand theEast. TheBell Housestandsout amongMcKim, Mead and White’s domesticdesignsas themost sophisticatedand clearly articulatedexampleof the ShingleStyle.

The Bell Houserepresentsthe search foran Americanidentity in architecture,basedoncombining the pastand presentwith great freedomand experimentation, it is truly anAmerican Landmark.

NPS Form 10-900 USDI/NPS NRHP Registration Form Rev. 8-86 0MB No. 1024.l8

BELL, ISAAC, JR. HOUSE Page18United StatesDepartmentof the Interior. National Park Service National Registerof Historic PlacesRegistration Form

9. MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES

Baker, John M.American House Styles,New York: W.W. Norton & Company,1994.

Benway, Anne. A Guidebookto NewportMansions,Newport,RI. :The PreservationSociety ofNewportCounty, 1984.

Clark, Kenneth. AnArchitecturalMonographofNewport, Volume 8, No. 3, New York: White PineMonographSeries,June1922.

Comstock, WilliamT. Count’y Houses andSeasideCottagesofthe Victorian Era, New York: DoverPublications, Inc.,1982.

Downing, Antoinetteand Scully, Vincent. The ArchitecturalHeritageof Newport, RhodeIsland,1640-1915.Cambridge:HarvardUniversity Press, 1952.

Foley, Mary Mix. The American House,New York: Harper & Row, 1980.

Historic AmericanBuildings Survey,NationalPark Service, U.S.Departmentof theInterior. WlwtStyleis It? A Guideto AmericanArchitecture,Washington,DC: The PreservationPress,1983.

Hitchcock, Henry-Russell.The PelicanHistory ofArt: Architecture:Nineteenthand TwentiethCenturies. Baltimore, 1971.

_______

RhodeIslandArchitecture,Cambridgeand London: TheM.I.T. Press,1939.

Jordy, William. American Buildings andTheir Architects:ProgressiveandAcademicIdeals at theTurn of the TwentiethCentury. GardenCity, 1976.

Jordy, WilliamH., and ChristopherP. Monkhouse.Buildingson Paper. Brown University, RhodeIsland Historical Society andRhodeIsland Schoolof Design, 1982.

Lewis, Arnold. AmericanCountry Housesof the GildedAge, Sheldon’s"Artistic Country Seats",New York: Dover Publications, Inc.,1982.

Mason, GeorgeC. Newport andIts Cottages,Boston: J.B. Osgood& Co., 1875.

Mulvagh, Janeand Weber, Mark.NewportHouses,New York: Rizzoli International Publications,Inc., 1989.

NationalTrust for Historic Preservation.Masterbuilders:A Guide to FamousAmericanArchitects,Washington,DC: PreservationPress,1985.

NewportMercury, January26, 1889.

NPS Form 10-9W USDrINPS NRHP Registration Form Rev 8-86 0MB No. 1024-0018

BELL, ISAAC, JR. HOUSE Page19United StatesDwartment of the rnterior. Natinnal ParkService National Register of Historic Ptaces Retistration Form

Rilkind, Carole.A Field Guide to AmericanArchitecture,New York and London: New AmericanLibrary, 1980.

Roth, Leland M. A Concise HistoryofAmericanArchitecture.New York, 1979.

McKim, Mead& White, Architects. New York, 1983.

A Monographofthe WorksofMcKim, Meadand White, 1879-1915,New York:International Publications,Inc., 1973.

Scully, Vincent J., Jr., TheShingle StyleTodayor The Historian’s Revenge,New York: GeorgeBrazellerPress,1974.

____

The Shingle Styleand the Stick Style: Architectural Theory andDesignFrom Richardsonto theOrigins of Wright, Rev. ed., New Haven: Yale University Press,1971.

-. AmericanHouses:ThomasJeffersonto Frank Lloyd Wright. or TheRiseof an AmericanArchitecture,editedby Edgar Kaufman,Jr.,163-209, New York, 1970.

____

The Shingle Style,New Haven: Yale University Press,1955.

____

TheArchitectof theAmerican Summer:The Flowering ofthe ShingleStyle, New York: RizzoliInternational Publications,Inc., 1989.

Stevens,JohnCalvin, and Cobbs, AlbertWinslow. ExamplesofAmericanDomestic Architecture,New York, 1889.

Van Rensuelaer,Marianne."American Country Dwellings," The Country Magazine,New York,1896.

Wilon, Richard Guy. McKim, Mead & White,Architects. New York, 1983.

UnpublishedSources

Historic AmericanBuildings Survey,HABS No. RI-308, 3-NEWP,44, August 1969.

City of Newport. PropertyField Cards.

Historic StructuresReport.Mesick, Cohen, Wilson,Baker, Architects, July 1995.

NPS Form 10-900 USDUNPS NRHP Registration Form Rev. 8-86 0MB No. 1024-0018

BELL, ISAAC, JR. HOUSE Page20United States Departmentof the Interior, National Park Service National Register of Historic Places Reistratinn Form

Previousdocumentationon file NPS:

- PreliminaryDeterminationof Individual Listing 36 CFR67 hasbeenrequested...X. PreviouslyListed in the National Register.- PreviouslyDeterminedEligible by the National Register.- Designateda National Historic Landmark...X. Recordedby Historic AmericanBuildings Survey: if RJ-308- Recordedby Historic AmericanEngineeringRecord: if________

PrimaryLocationof Additional Data:

- StateHistoric PreservationOffice- Other StateAgency- FederalAgency- Local Government- University..X. OtherSpecifyRepository:.

Archives, PreservationSociety of NewportCounty, Newport,RI.Archives, Newport HistoricalSociety,Newport, RI.Newport CityHall, Recordsof Deeds, Newport,RI.

10. GEOGRAPHICAL DATA

Acreageof Property: .98 acres

UTM References:Zone Easting NorthingA 19 307150 4594350

Verbal BoundaryDescription:

All that certainlot or parcelof land, with buildings andimprovementsthereon, situatedin the cityandcountyof Newport, stateof Rhode IslandPlat No. 33, Lot No. 25.

BoundaryJustification:

The boundaryof theproperty is the sameas recordedin the deedof August25, 1994,Land EvidenceBook No.5j, Page45Q, heldby the City Clerk’s Office of NewportCounty, RI. The propertyincludesthe houseand gardens that havehistorically beenpart of the Isaac Bell,Jr. property.

NPS Form 10-900 USDI/NPS NRHP Registration Form Rev. 8-86 0MB No. 1024-0018

BELL, ISAAC, JR. HOUSE . Page21United State, Department of the Interior. National Park Service National Register of Historic Place, RegistrationForm

11. FORM PREPAREDBY

Name/Tide: JohnTschirch,ArchitecturalHistorianDiane D.Gait, InternFredStachura,Intern

Address: The PreservationSociety of NewportCounty424 BelievueAvenueNewport,Rhode Island 02840

Telephone: 401847-1000

Date: December18, 1996

Editedby: SusanKline, 202-343-8165CarolynPitts, 202-343-8166National ParkServiceP.O. Box 37127,Suite 310Washington,D.C. 20013-7127

NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARKS SURVEYDecember5, 1997

I * tO. 20

.1’-’* rnflp4u- t_.- **-

eot#crflY o, -

..a}IEN,t.1SLfoDJ13,AtaC,Ata4trfCfl

Isaac Bell, Jr. HouseNewport, Newport County, Rhode Island

Secondfloor plan -

Drawing courtesy of Mesick, Cohen. Wilson, Baker, Architects

Isaac Bell, Jr. HouseNewport, Newport County, Rhode Island

1 5 10 20

Thbdfloor-

Drawing courtesy of; Mesick, Cohen, Wilson, Baker. Architects

Isaac Bell, Jr., HouseNewport, Newport County, Rhode Island

1 6 10 20

__

- e

oattery

- -!:7- -o ‘

Cern

LjhtQ

S

SIGoat

Island

-.

MoscJte

T

:-H ii ",0Frifratjcjn

-

- -c

Easton

Pond

26

;-iakt

37!?::DoIphin / -

2327

-It

ISAAC BELL, JR. HOUSENewport, Newport County, RI

Zone19

Fasting307150

Northing4594350

9

1O

1

2

53 5

45

37

64

33

2.

//54

391__54

250

/

44

54 SI

62- I

63

,._CitinRdck* *

Sn

5**-

‘Rose

* tslandS

* 4-

-/WMitchell

-. Rock

62

‘08 52

L

‘S/7II l /

Steps

,LVE’ ERG I NAILLEGE

22

- /31

, 35

7a ‘

Skeep27

-

23/ 34

46

Cove 36 56

3

fk

H 53salDCW

5353

- 28 * -

62

47

4$

THE ISAAC BELL, Jr. HOUSE

Newport, Rhode island

1886 illustration of the fireplace alcove from

CenturY Magazine

THE ISAAC BELL, JR. HOUSE

NeWPO, RhodeIsland

Fireplacealcove

PhotO Mesick. Cohen, Wilson, Baker,

1,-:

- --

THE ISAAC BELL, JR. HOUSENewport,Rhode IslandHistoric Photoof theFrontFacadec. 1886Photo:Artistic CountySeats1886-87

- by GeorgeSheldon- a- --

* _** -

**

Jsaac Bell House

Newport, R.I.Facade looking N W

Photo: Foley, Newport 1973

+

THE ISAAC BELL, JR. HOUSENewport,RhodeIslandDolphinsbrackets -

Photo: Mesick, ohtii. Wilson, Baker,AlA, 1995

4

THE ISAAC BELL, JR. HOUSENewport,Rhode IslandSouth porch,BamboocolumnsPhoto: Mesick, Cohen, Wilson, Baker,

AlA, 1995

.

TIlE ISAAC BELL, JR. HOUSE..

Newport, RhodeIsland

Mrs. Bell’s bedcoomphoto: Mesick, Cohen, Wilsoii, Baker,

AlA, 1995

I

THE ISAAC BELL, JR. HOUSE

Newport,Rhode IslandFireplacePhoto: Mesick, Cohen, Wilson, Baker,

AlA, 1995

UNITEO STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIORNATIONAL PARK SERVICE

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACESINVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM

Type all entries - completeapplicable sections

BrA TE:

Rhode IslandCO U N T V

NewportFOR NPS USE ONLY

ENTRY NUMBER DATE

II. NAMECOMMON: - - -

Bell Isaac HouseAND/OR HISTORIC: -

Edna Villa

STREET AND NUMBER:

70 Perry StreetCITY OR TOWN:

NewportSTATE

CODE COUNTY: COOE

Rhode Island, 028b0 Newport 0½

ICLASSIFICATIONCATEGORYcheck One

OWNERSHIP STATUSACCESSIBLE

TO THE PUBLIC

C District KJ- Building C Public*

Public Acquisition: -. Occupied - Yes:

C Silo C Structure Private C In Process*. C Unoccupied - C Restricted

C Object C Both *

.

C-

Being Considered

.

C Preservation workinprogress

C Unrestricted

No -

PRESENT USE chock One, or fl4ore as Appropriate

Broadway

Newport

TITLE OF SURVEY:

C Goernment

C IndjjstrioiC Pork

Private Residence

Historic American Buildings Survey

C Transportation - C Comments

DATE OF SURVEY: 1970 Federal C State C County C LocalOEPOSI TORY FOR SURVEY

Library ofRECORDS:

CongressSTREET AND NUMBER:

IndependenceAvenue and 1st Street, S. E.CITY OR TOWN: STATE:

Washington District of Columbia

NForm O-3OQJuly 1969

‘I,

z0

IU

I..n

Ui

U-i

C Agricultural

C Commercial

C Educational C Military- C Religious

C Entertainment C Museum C Scientific

C Other Specie’

OWNERS NAME:

Clive B. Kimball and Mrs. Louise Ce KimballSTREET AND NUMBER:

70 Perry StreetCITY OR TOWN:

Newport

1LOCATION OF LEGAL DESCRIPTIONtOURTHOUSE REGISTRY OF DEEDS. ETC

City HallSTREET AND NUMBER:

STATE:

CITY OR TOWN: STATE

l±EtATb0N IN EXISTING SURVEYSInz-tI*<0zC z10IS Sn

mcI

rI,

0zr

_______________

- - It- Check One

CONDITIONC Excellent Good C Fair C Deteriorated C Ruins C Unexposed

- - - - Check One - Check One

. Altored C Unaltered C Moved ilJ Original SiteDESCRIBE TNE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL If known PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

The Isaac Bell house was built in 1882-1883 from the desis ofMcKim, Mead & White. It is a three-storey, gabled structure of woodenballoon-frame construction.upon a stone basement. - Its first floor isfaced in brick, while the uoper wall surfaces and sloping roofs werecovered by shingles--in some gables and other places made decorative byhaving rounded endor being laid on in undulating courses. It was builtas a summer residence and has the open planning and numerousporcheswhich began to citacterise country and resort houses, particularly, inthe Teighties. The house may be said to front on Bellevue A’!enue, facingeast, where the major porchesand a wide, low set of steps are placed,but the actual entrance is through a door and vestibule on the PerryStreet side, to the south -

The east front of the house features two large, windowed third-storey gables side by side above a range of seven windows and a south-eastern corner oriel or angled bay window on the second floor. The firstfloor has three large windows and onewide triple window, all floor-length, irregularly spaced. Running across the front of the house is a -shadowed,one-storey porch railed in brick. At the north-east corner ofthe house this porch is brought forward in a rounded projection with asecond-storey, steep-roofedporch, railed in shingles, above. At thesouth-east the porch is pushed forth in a rectangular, gabled projectionand is also extendedpart way around the s±de’of the house, where it isstopped at a rounded three-storey hay. At this point are the steps and ahood of the main entrance. A decorative feature of the. house is the useof slender, tapered columns of bamboo-like form rising from the porchparapets to uphold the verandah roofs. Other intentionally picturesqueexterior features are the very tall and irregularly-placed chimneys, the -contrasting textures of brick and weathered shingles, the expansesof 0

sloping roofs, the very small-paned 20 over 20 windows of the thirdfloor--originally surmountedby wooden lunettes--and the small-panedupper sashes of windows on lower floors. -

While this house can only be described as irregular in plan andshape, there is a basic, central, nearly-square space which on the firstfloor contains the large stair-hall or "living-ha 1,11 the small southernentrance vestibule and two drawing-rooms across the east front. Pushed -

out from this central area at the south-west corneris a bay which con-tains an almost semicircular study with bookshelving, while to the northare a dining-room also opening to the east porch, with pantries backedby a kitchen and rear porch to:the north-west. Vincent Scully describestheirst floor in his The-Shingle Style: "One enters through a vestibuleinto a great hall. To the right is a reception room and to the left a

-

- See Continuation.Sheet - -

- r

Form lO-300a UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STATE

* Dec. 1968 NATIONAL PARK SERYICE Rhode Island

NATIONAL REGISTER-OF HISTORIC PLACES COUNTY

Newport- INVENTORY . NOMINATION FORM

FOR NPS USE ONLY

Continuation SheetENTRY NUHBER DATE

Number all entries

7. Description. -

study tucked in near the hall fireplace, which is placed in an inglenook.The tremendousfireplace has an extended hearth running from the study wallto the great stairs. Beside the inglenook a post supports a transversebeam. Behind its span the stair well rises. From the stair landing ahuge window- ... lights the hall. Off the central soace of the hall,drawing and dining rooms open widely and connect-with the piazza throughFrench doors. Thus the interior space is one of continuity through interwoven areas." He quotes George William Sheldon’s Artistic Country Housesregarding decor: ttThe finish is in oak. ... Immediately around the fireplace is an extensive spaceof tiling, and a row of marble seats runs between the staircase and Mr. Bell’s room study. ... Opposite the staircase,eight feet wide, appearsan open transom, supported on carved bracketsA beautiful and much carved screen, with panels of wood, separatesthestaircase from the fireplace It The ornamentation of the living-hall ismuch concentratedupon the fireplace and inglenook area where, in additionto carving, there- is much ingenuity of detail in the use of small squaresof glass--sometimesbevelled--and of tile, which occurred a year or two

- earlier with great successin NcKim, Mead & White’s dining room at Kings- -

cote, nearby, and also in their SamuelTilton house in Newport. On this -

first floor, much of the furniture, either built-in or movable, was design-ed by that firm especially for the house, and a good part survives.

The second and third floors are given over to master and guest bedrooms and to servants’ chambers. Throughout the house in recent yearssome of the rooms have beendivided into two soaces--without, however,altering or removing any original partitions or woodwork. Portions ofthe exterior have-beenre-shingled in a plainer mannerthan originally,and the roof now is- covered by modern composition shingles. -

PERIOD Chock 0ne or More as Appropriate -

I Pre-Columbian --- C 16th Century - C 18th Century C ?oth Century

C 15th Century - C 17th Century - - 19th Century - - -

SPEd FIC DATEISI Ii Applicable and Known 1882-1883 * -

AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE Checc One or More as Appropriate -- - - - -. - - -

Aboriginal -- - -- C Education - -- C Political :--- C Urban Planning

C Prehistoric C Engineering C Religion/Phi--

C Other Specify

C Historic C Industry - losophy -

0 Agriculture- 0 Invention J Science -

Architecture 0 Landscape C Sculpture

o Art Architecture C Social/Human

________________________

C Commerce 0 Literature itarian

________________________

o Communications o Military C Theater

________________________

C Conservation C Music C Transportation

________________________

STATEMENT OFSIGNIFICANCE

The Bell house is one of NcKim, Mead & White1s most successfulworks in the Queen Anne style and one of their most inventive and ingenious in the handling of free interior spaces designed for comfort, -

air, light, and easy entertaining--a notable break from the veryseparate,very defined and conventionally-placed halls and rooms ofo

- earlier periods. As such, it has received much mention, in its time-

- and now, in books and articles on domestic architecture and is con-sistently pointed out as an outstanding break-throughin residential

o design, both internally.:and externally. - -‘

In Newport, it is a landmark, being one of the first of theparade of summer residences, villas and palaces extendingalong Belle-v-ne Avenue and giving that thoroughfare its beauty, character and fame.The loss of any one of these houses--especiallyone as distinguishedand sensitive in design as the Bell house--would be an aesthetic dis-

- aster and most destructive to the Newport scene. And the loss of its- trees and lawn would he equally disastrous, visually.

W- The Bell house has had various changesin ownership and use over

I... recent decades,but so far its fabric has not suffered seriousmis-handling or deterioration. It is at the point now, however, when itmight hecome -run-down, might be seriously altered or even demolished -‘

unless it continues to have a sympathetic owner and receives the continuing good, averagemaintenanceand repair it has enjoyed to date.It is believed to be for dale. It is still a very-livable residence.With its lawn and trees, it is of visual importance in its area; and -

it has also become somethingof a minor monument in American archi-tecural history. -

- U

tIgGR.b!’_l-l !CbLREFER NCE S

Hitchcock, Henry-Russell, Jr.: Rhode Island Architecture Providence,- R. I., 1939, pp. 57-58, p1. 62.

Scully, Vincent J., Jr.: The Shingle Style New Haven, Conn., 1955,pp. l39-ThO, figs. 129, 130, 131. --- -

Downing, Antoinette F.,and Scully, Vincent J., Jr.: The ArchitecturalHeritage of Newport, Rhode Island, l6bO-l9lS Cambridge,Nass.,1952, p’: 152, p1. 205. - - -

[Ic. GEOGRAPHiCAL DATA - - - -

LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE COORDINATES - LATITUDE AND LONGITUDE COORDINA TES --

DEFINING A RECTANGLE LOCATING THE PROPERTY 0 DEFINING THE CENTER POINT OF A PROPERTY- -

- OF LESS THAN TEN ACRES

- CORNER LATITUDE LONGITUDE LATITUDE LONGITUDE

APPROXIMATE ACREAGE DF NOMINATED PROPERTY; Less_than one acre -

VLIST ALL STATES AND COUNTIES FOR PROPERTIES OVERLAPPING STATE DR COUNTY BOUNDARIES -

STATE: COUNTY

STATE:

STATE:

STATE:

ARENAME AND TI TLE: - -- -- - -

Richard B. Harrington, Consultant -

ORGANIZATION - - DATE - -

Rhode Island Historical Preserv-aticinCommission -- March 3, 1971STREET AND NUMBER:

State House, 90 Smith Street - -- I -

cITY OR TOWN; - -

Providence -

STATE - - - - CODE

- Rhode Island - -- -

so -E kO

As the designated State Liaison Officerfor the Na-- - - - - -

tional Historic Preservation Act of 1966 Public Law

89-665, 1 hereby nominate this property for inclusion

in the National Register and certify that it has been

evaluated according to the criteria and procedures set

forth by the National Park Service. The recommended- - - -level of significance of thts nomination is:

National State C Local C l

-

Name -

-

Title - -

Date -

- - --

- I hereby certify that this property is included in the-

National Register. - -- - - -

- -

- -

- - - - -

Chief, Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation

-

Date

-

AnEST:

- -

Keeper of The National Register

Date --

-

NW

NE

SE

SW

Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Secondsa . . 0 *

. a . ,

u - 0 . .

0 . . 0 . .

CODE

Degrees Minutes Secondsblo -2& 45F

Degrees Minutes Seconds-71° 18 L4

COUNTY: - -

COUNTY:

COUNTY:

En

nirn

En

-I

C

n-I

0

zEn

KEYI. HALL2. DINING ROOMY PARLOR4. RECEPTION ROOM5 LIBRAR’Y

ORw v Th0I455 B SCHUBERT

FIRST FLOOR PLAN

0

1’1

DOTTED LIMES INDICATEPARTITIONS ADDED IN 957.

012345 IC 0

SC A U II. SE El i/a C

BERPORT VARY PROJECT- 19b9

SUACE EBB OCBIOB R SURVEY NOHISTORIC AMERICAN

ElCU OF URCIIEOLOOT ANY HISTORIC PRESERIIUTION p DELL fl.V BUILDINGS SURVEY

lROlCYERORPEBYORRlBlBV SELLEVUE AND PERR’ AVENUES NEWPORT, RkODE ISLAND 308 SHEll 2 OF SHIRTS

II*

IOb-O--

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STATE

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Rhode IslandNATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES

COUNTY

NewportPROPERTY PHOTOGRAPH FORM FOR NPS USE ONLY

Typeall entries - attach to or enclosewith photographENTRY NUMBER DATE

Z C C..CUCCC.CC:.1IiIiI :ICIICCi..Ii..CI.:..C.CT....C:... C GCCCi4CiCiICICSCkiC...iTCCC T..C..C UCCIIC’ .. ..

o GOMMON: Bell Isaac House- AND/OR HISTORIC: Edpa .

I- LocKr1oNSTREET AND NUMBER:

70 Perrr StreetCITY OR TOWN:

NewportSTATE: CODE ICOUNT’’: CODE

- Rhode Island 1IjJI Newport 00

z HOTQREffERENCE- PHOTO CREDIT:HiStoriC American Buildings Survey

1DATE OF PHOTO: 1969ILl EGATIVEFILEDAT: Library of Congress, IndependenceAvenue and 1st St., 5* E.

w j Washington, D. C.v

DESCRIBE VIEW. DIRECTI ON. ETC.

First-floor plan, drawn by Thomas B. Schubert.

I CL I ATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIORNATIONAL PARK SERVICE

NATIONAL REGISTER OF KISTORIC PLACES

PROPERTY PHOTOGRAPH FORM

Typeall entries - attach to or enclosewith photograph

STATE --

Rhode Island

COUNTY

Newport

FOR NPS USE ONLYENTRY NUMBER DATE

.:rC .

COMMON: Bell Cisaac HouseAN 0/OR HISTORIC: Edna VillaOA19ONSTREET AND NUMBER: s t70 Perry ree

CITY OR TOWN:

Newport

r"-

STATE: CODE COUNTY: CODE

I .....

WT*.

Nerport . ... oo

PHOTO CREDIT: Histori.c American Buildings SurveyDATE OF PHOTO:__1060

NEGATIVE FILED AT: Li’r’rarv of Congress, IndependenceAvenue and 1st St., S. E.,

T.Tbingten,

D. C.

- __________

0

I.U

I

z

‘U

LU

I-BaDESCRIBE VIEW, DIRECTI ON. ETC.

Exterior, seen from the south-east, showing carriage entrance atleft.

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STATE

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Rhodii Island

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACESCOUNTY

Ne’0rprrt

PROPERTY PHOTOGRAPH FORM FORNPSIJSE ONLY

Typeall entries - attach to or enclose with photographENTRY NUMBER DATE

Z., ..

0 ICOMMON: Bell Isa-ac House- lAND/OR HISTORIC: Ecng Vi1pI- L LOCA1ION

ISTREET AND NUMBER:U 70 Perry StreetCITY OR TOWN:

Newport

I- STATE: CODE COUNTY: I CODERhode Island Newport

40T.o R.E.EREC ....

- ]RHOTO CREDIT: Historic Arrrican Pui1dngs irireyIPATE OF PHOTO: 1 06Q

‘U bEGATIVE FILED AT: I4hrary of Congress, IndependenceAvenue and1st St., S. E.,ILl i Tjashin ton, D. C.I-Ba NflFICAT1O

DESCRIBE VIEW. DIRECTION. ETC... I

West end of living-hall, showing fireolace recess, main stairway.

6 -J

58

/9

N.’

S.,..

." 2/

35"..

‘5S5 lght

1gb ‘. 3 /7-- /. /7

CeDoIDhIflN...R T," HA RBORV. __-5__

2 /16 C3

Sm

,623

/7PIings4 IC 3

‘Brenton /5

41I

Cove’6

44

Rock

Marys Seat9

45

ps

5,

35

38

33

+

2/

46

68

9

/

1"

N

I

24

3,

56

50

27

37

GEOGRAPHICAL COORDINATES5.9 Latitude: La° 28’ 1" N48

. Longitude: 71° 18’ 3lI w62

63

62

64

63

74

70

66

Form 10-301 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STATE

July 1969 NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Rhode Island

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES COUNTY

NewportPROPERTY MAP FORM FOR NPS USE ONLY

Type all entries - attach to or enclosewith mapENTRY NUMBER DATE

0 COMMON: Bell Isaac House- AND/OR HISTORIC:Edfla VillaI-. LOCATON

STREET AND NUM BER:U

70 Perry StreetCITY OR TOWN:

NewportSTATE:

CODE COUNTY: CODE

Rhode Island Newport 005MAP REFERNC

SOURCE:

- U. S. Geological Survey

‘U SCALE: 1: 2i,000LU

DATE: J7EQUIREMENTS

TO BE INCLUDED ON ALL MAPS

1. Property broundaries where required.2. North arrow.

3. Latitude and longitude reference.