The Whitehorne House is an example of a United States
Federal style
Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the newly founded United States between 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was heavily based on the works of Andrea Palladio with several inn ...
mansions
A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property la ...
at 416
Thames Street in
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, ...
and is open to the public as a
historic house museum
A historic house museum is a house of historic significance that has been transformed into a museum. Historic furnishings may be displayed in a way that reflects their original placement and usage in a home. Historic house museums are held to a ...
.
History
It was built for Samuel Whitehorne Jr. in 1811 and the exterior feature elegant brick constructionm a hipped roof, decorative entry
portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...
, and a formal garden, which are typical of the
Federal Style
Federal-style architecture is the name for the classicizing architecture built in the newly founded United States between 1780 and 1830, and particularly from 1785 to 1815, which was heavily based on the works of Andrea Palladio with several inn ...
. It is notable as one of the rare houses to be built in Newport in the Federal Style as the period after the Revolutionary War was a period of slow economic recovery for the city. Interior highlights include a grand central hallway, hand carved details, and a significant collection of early American furniture provided by
Doris Duke
Doris Duke (November 22, 1912 – October 28, 1993) was an American billionaire tobacco heiress, philanthropist, art collector, Horticulture, horticulturalist, and socialite. She was often called "the richest girl in the world". Her great wealt ...
. It includes examples of the artisans
Goddard and Townsend
The Goddard and Townsend families of Newport lend their name to an extensive body of New England furniture associated with Newport, Rhode Island in the second half of the 18th century.
Family of artisans
The Townsend and Goddard families were t ...
, Benjamin Baker and
Holmes Weaver. It is currently owned by the
Newport Restoration Foundation
The Newport Restoration Foundation was founded by Doris Duke in 1968 in Newport, Rhode Island to preserve early housing stock including 18th century colonial homes. Former First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis was the foundation's vice president.
...
Newport Restoration Foundation
/ref>
The house was listed on 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.
See also
*
References
External links
Whitehorne House
- Newport Restoration Foundation
*
Houses in Newport, Rhode Island
Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island
Federal architecture in Rhode Island
Historic house museums in Rhode Island
Museums in Newport, Rhode Island
Decorative arts museums in the United States
Historic American Buildings Survey in Rhode Island
National Register of Historic Places in Newport, Rhode Island
Historic district contributing properties in Rhode Island
1811 establishments in Rhode Island
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