The John N. A. Griswold House is a historic house located at 76 Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island. It was built in 1864 for John Noble Alsop Griswold, an

Old China Trade The Old China Trade () refers to the early commerce between the Qing Empire and the United States under the Canton System, spanning from shortly after the end of the American Revolutionary War in 1783 to the Treaty of Wanghia in 1844. The Old C ...

merchant and member of the

Griswold Family The Griswold family () is an American political family from Connecticut and New York of English descent. The family's fortune originates from the 19th Century industrial and merchant pursuits. Family origins The Griswold family originates fr ...

, and was designed by

Richard Morris Hunt Richard Morris Hunt (October 31, 1827 – July 31, 1895) was an American architect of the nineteenth century and an eminent figure in the history of American architecture. He helped shape New York City with his designs for the 1902 entrance fa� ...

in the American Stick style, one of the earliest buildings in that style, and one of Hunt's first works in Newport. The house was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1971, and was designated a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the United States government for its outstanding historical significance. Only some 2,500 (~3%) of over 90,000 places listed ...

in 2000. It is now one of the galleries of the

Newport Art Museum The Newport Art Museum, founded in 1912 as the Art Association of Newport, is located at 76 Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island. The museum operates a gallery in the John N. A. Griswold House, a National Historic Landmark that is one of th ...

, and is a project of

Save America’s Treasures Save America's Treasures is a United States federal government initiative to preserve and protect historic buildings, arts, and published works. It is a public–private partnership between the U.S. National Park Service and the National Trust fo ...

Description and history

The Griswold House is a -story wood-frame structure, set on a granite foundation, on a parcel that was landscaped in the early 19th century to a design by the

Olmsted Brothers The Olmsted Brothers company was a landscape architectural firm in the United States, established in 1898 by brothers John Charles Olmsted (1852–1920) and Frederick Law Olmsted Jr. (1870–1957), sons of the landscape architect Frederick Law ...

. It has a complex roofline, whose main mansarded section is pierced by numerous gable and dormer sections. The roof is finished with bands of polychrome slate, and is enhanced by chimneys with concrete caps and decorative panels. There are numerous balconies sheltered by deep eaves, with gable ends decorated with applied Stick style woodwork. An expansive veranda wraps around the southern and western sides of the house, with an elaborately-decorated port-cochere on the north side. and The exterior Stick style theme of applied woodwork is continued inside, where the public rooms feature extensive woodwork, and richly decorated spaces. A number of rooms are either partially or completely octagonal in shape, including the main hall, the dining room, and the library. The main hall features an elaborately decorated staircase, with a carved griffin statue standing guard at its base. The house was designed by

and built in 1864 for John Noble Alsop Griswold, a merchant in the China Trade. It was the first of Hunt's many notable works in Newport, and is considered a prototype work of the Stick style of architecture. Griswold died in the house in 1909; it remained vacant until 1915, when it was acquired by the Art Association of Newport, which now uses it as a museum gallery. The association is one of the oldest organizations of its type in the United States. The house was listed on the

in 1971, and was designated a

in 2000, in recognition for its architectural significance and its association with the Art Association of Newport.

Gallery

File:John N. A. Griswold house (now Newport Art Museum), Newport, Rhode Island. Elevation. Sketch LCCN2013648681.jpg, 1862 sketch File:Historic American Buildings Survey, September, 1969 WEST (FRONT) FACADE. - John N. A. Griswold House, 76 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, Newport County, RI HABS RI,3-NEWP,36-1.tif, West Facade File:John N. A. Griswold house (now Newport Art Museum), Newport, Rhode Island. First floor plan and site plan LCCN2013648677.tif, First floor plan File:Historic American Buildings Survey, September, 1969 VIEW OF THE LIBRARY FROM THE EAST. - John N. A. Griswold House, 76 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, Newport County, RI HABS RI,3-NEWP,36-6.tif, The library

References

External links

Newport Art Museum Building informationJohn N. A. Griswold House, 76 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, Newport, RI
at the

Historic American Buildings Survey Heritage Documentation Programs (HDP) is a division of the U.S. National Park Service (NPS) responsible for administering the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS), Historic American Engineering Record (HAER), and Historic American Landscapes ...

(HABS) {{DEFAULTSORT:Griswold, John, House Museums in Newport, Rhode Island Art museums and galleries in Rhode Island Historic house museums in Rhode Island Houses completed in 1864 Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island National Historic Landmarks in Rhode Island Historic American Buildings Survey in Rhode Island Houses in Newport, Rhode Island Richard Morris Hunt buildings Victorian architecture in Rhode Island National Register of Historic Places in Newport, Rhode Island Historic district contributing properties in Rhode Island

Description and history

Gallery

See also

References

External links