Isaac Bell House
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The Isaac Bell House in one of the famous Gilded Age Newport summer cottage. Newport, Rhode Island was the summer resort of choice for America's wealthiest families. Construction of this Shingle Style home took place from 1881 to 1883.
[edit] History
The Isaac Bell House is one of the best remaining examples of Shingle Style architect; this summer “cottage” was designed for Isaac Bell Jr. Bell was a successful cotton broker and investor. He is also the brother-in-law of James Gordon Bennett, Jr. publisher of the New York Herald.
It was designed by the architect firm; McKim, Mead, and White (Charles Follen McKim, William R. Mead, and Stanford White) of New York, NY. Known in Newport for designing Newport Casino and later in Boston for designing Boston Public Library. They also designed the famous Pennsylvania Station in New York.
The Shingle Style was pioneered in the design of the William Watts Sherman House also located in Newport RI. This style of Victorian architecture popular in the late nineteenth century and named after the decorative shingles used on the exterior. The Isaac Bell House provides an example of this style through its unpainted wood shingles, simple window & trim details and multiple level porches. It combines elements of the English Arts and Crafts philosophy with colonial American details. This home features a Japanese-inspired open floor plan and bamboo-style porch columns. Details include inglenook fireplaces, natural rattan wall coverings, wall paneling and narrow band wooden floors.
The home history includes being split up into apartments and serving as a nursing home. This property was purchased in 1994 by the owned by the Preservation Society of Newport County County with the help Carol Chiles Ballard. It is a National Historic Landmark and has won awards for restoration work.
