FIELD TOURS

Touro Synagogue interior
Courtesy of the Touro Synagogue Foundation

Tour 1

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Discover the remarkable story of early Newport on a stroll through the exquisitely preserved Historic Hill and Point neighborhoods.  Hear stories of revolution and ruin, struggles for religious liberty, and the brilliant (though sometimes infamous) entrepreneurship of the city’s diverse residents.

The tour covers several significant landmarks from the heyday of this “lively experiment” of a colony, and includes in-depth looks inside potential World Heritage sites such as the Great Friends Meeting House (1699), The Colony House (1736-1739), Touro Synagogue (America's Oldest Synagogue, 1763), and The Redwood Library (founded 1747).

Old Colony House
Courtesy of the
Newport Historical Society

Great Friends Meeting House
Courtesy of the
Newport Historical Society

Tour 2

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Newport in the Gilded Age - Newport in the 19th Century (Capacity: 50 people)

Led by
John Tschirch, Architectural Historian, Preservation Society of Newport County, Charles J. Moore, Director of Conservation, Preservation Society of Newport County
Philip Marshall, Roger Williams University

Join us for a visit to what was once a veritable laboratory of architectural experimentation.  During the nineteenth century, picturesque summer cottages sprang up in variety of styles along Newport’s Bellevue Avenue. This tour provides an opportunity to see three landmark properties of varied style that chronicle the major design movements of the era.  The tour will first visit Kingscote, a Gothic Revival style villa finished in 1841 by architect Richard Upjohn.  Next, the Isaac Bell House completed by Stanford White in 1883, which is a fine example of the American Shingle style.  Lastly, The Elms, completed in 1901 by architect Horace Trumbauer. The Elms is largely modeled after a grand 18th century French Château, the Château d’Asnieres, which is located just outside of Paris.  These three properties are owned and operated by The Preservation Society of Newport County.

Kingscote

The Elms

Tour 3

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The Salve Regina University campus includes over 20 historic structures in the Ochre Point and Bellevue Avenue Historic Districts. The oceanside buildings and landscapes on Salve Regina's 75-acre campus make it one of the loveliest in the country. Bordering the famed Cliff Walk, the setting exemplifies significant developments in the architectural, historical and cultural heritage of 19th and early 20th century America. The university continues to act as a steward of this heritage and is actively engaged in preserving the splendor of its Gilded Age properties, while also adapting them for educational use.

Funded by a grant by the Getty Foundation, the University has created a Campus Heritage Preservation Plan which addressed issues of both historic preservation and the needs of an academic institution. Tours of Ochre Court (1891) and the Wetmore Stables (c 1880) will explore both preservation and adaptive reuse on the campus.

Ochre Court

Wetmore Stables

Tour 4

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This tour provides an opportunity to visit three unique landscape sites in the area surrounding historic Newport. Blithewold is one of New England’s premier estate gardens. Thirty three, landscaped acres overlook Bristol Harbor and Narragansett Bay and feature an extensive and unique collection of trees and shrubs, mostly exotic to the Rhode Island landscape. While the grounds were laid out in 1897, the current mansion was built in 1907 after a fire destroyed the original house.

Green Animals, a small, country estate in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, is the northernmost topiary garden in the United States and has been cared for by The Preservation Society of Newport County since 1972.  Over the course of the twentieth century, the grounds were transformed into a whimsical, estate garden featuring eighty pieces of topiary including, animals, birds, geometric shapes and extensive seasonal plantings.

Greenvale Vineyards (1864-65), only a short distance away from Green Animals in Portsmouth, Rhode Island, is located on Greenvale Farm, which is listed on both the Rhode Island and the National Register of Historic Places. This Victorian, summer farmstead is now home to an award-winning winery.

Blithewold

Green Animal

Tour 5

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The architects responsible for the exterior restoration of both The Breakers and Chateau-sur-Mer will discuss the process of researching and designing the historically appropriate repair work for these two Newport architectural icons. The recently completed exterior restoration and tile roof replacement at The Breakers and the in-process exterior restoration and slate Mansard roofing and decorative metalwork restoration at Chateau-sur-Mer will be reviewed on site and in detail.  The architects will discuss the decision-making process, including historic research, non-invasive testing, and hands-on inspections involved in designing and planning for these historically significant and highly visible projects.

Visit these links for WASA's descriptions of their work at
The Breakers and Chateau-sur-Mer (Note: PDF files)

The Breakers

Chateau-sur-Mer

Tour 6

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The city of Providence is a model of urban revitalization. Once the core of a business district, the Westminster Street neighborhood is now the center of a vibrant arts district with former commercial buildings in the process of conversion to residential lofts. The Broadway and Armory Districts of the city is another example of preservation by owner initiative through the support of the Revolving Fund of the Providence Preservation Society. Displaying a rich collection of 19th and early 20th century houses, the Broadway and Armory neighborhoods are important examples of how historic Providence has been reinvented through preservation efforts.

This year, the Providence Preservation Society marks its 50th anniversary, honoring the visionary work of its founders and celebrating its relevance in the city today. Formed in 1956 to stop the further demolition of colonial-period houses on College Hill, PPS has grown from a small grassroots network to its current leadership role as a citywide preservation, advocacy and education organization.

Earle Building


Shakespear's Head