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Chateau-sur-Mer
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Chateau-sur-Mer
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Chateau-sur-Mer, Newport, Rhode Island.
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| Location | 474 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island |
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| Coordinates | 41°28′16.5″N71°18′19″WCoordinates: 41°28′16.5″N 71°18′19″W |
| Area | 17 acres (69,000 m2)[1] |
| Built | 1851 |
| Architect | Multiple |
| Architectural style | Mid 19th Century Revival |
| Governing body | Local |
| Part of | Bellevue Avenue Historic District(#72000023) |
| NRHP Reference # | 68000002 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | November 8, 1968[2] |
| Designated NHL | February 17, 2006[3] |
| Designated NHLDCP | December 8, 1972 |
Chateau-sur-Mer is the FIRST of the grand Bellevue Avenue mansions of the Gilded Age in Newport, Rhode Island, New England.
Located at 424 Bellevue Avenue, it is now owned by the Preservation Society of Newport County, and is open to the public as a museum.
Chateau-sur-Mer's grand scale and lavish parties ushered in the Gilded Age of Newport, as it was the most palatial residence in Newport until the Vanderbilt houses in the 1890s.
It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 2006.
Chateau-sur-Mer was completed in 1852 as an Italianate villa for William Shepard Wetmore, a merchant in the China trade, who was born on January 26, 1801, in St. Albans, Vermont.
The architect and builder was Seth C. Bradford.
The structure is a landmark of Victorian architecture, furniture, wallpapers, ceramics and stenciling. Wetmore died on June 16, 1862, at Chateau-sur-Mer, leaving the bulk of his fortune to his son, George Peabody Wetmore.
George later married Edith Keteltas in 1869.
During the 1870s, the Wetmores departed on an extended trip to Europe, leaving architect Richard Morris Hunt to remodel and redecorate the house in the French Second Empire style.
As a result, Chateau-sur-Mer displays most of the major design trends of the last half of the 19th century.
The house is constructed of Fall River Granite.
Hunt's alterations greatly expanded the house, adding a new three-story wing, a porte-cochere, and a projecting four-story tower with mansard roof.
The carriage house was also enlarged, in a manner sympathetic to Bradford's original design.
Hunt also designed the entrance gate of the estate, which are somewhat Greek Revival in style, but with posts modeled after Egyptian obelisks.
The architect and builder was Seth C. Bradford.
The structure is a landmark of Victorian architecture, furniture, wallpapers, ceramics and stenciling. Wetmore died on June 16, 1862, at Chateau-sur-Mer, leaving the bulk of his fortune to his son, George Peabody Wetmore.
George later married Edith Keteltas in 1869.
During the 1870s, the Wetmores departed on an extended trip to Europe, leaving architect Richard Morris Hunt to remodel and redecorate the house in the French Second Empire style.
As a result, Chateau-sur-Mer displays most of the major design trends of the last half of the 19th century.
The house is constructed of Fall River Granite.
Hunt's alterations greatly expanded the house, adding a new three-story wing, a porte-cochere, and a projecting four-story tower with mansard roof.
The carriage house was also enlarged, in a manner sympathetic to Bradford's original design.
Hunt also designed the entrance gate of the estate, which are somewhat Greek Revival in style, but with posts modeled after Egyptian obelisks.
The centerpiece of the mansion's interior is its Great Hall, a massive three-story chamber with a 45-foot (14 m) ceiling and broad balconies.
The Billiard Room is in the East Lake style, with oak timbers aligned diagonally on the ceiling, and herringbone flooring.
The Library has an ITALIAN design, and was actually designed and built in Italy, then disassembled and transported to Newport.
The Marble Hall Way originally served as the house's main entrance, and is finished a variety of different marble colous.
It was closed off in 1920 by replacing the main door with a bay window.
The Green Room served as a ladies' reception area, and was designed in 1900 by Ogden Codman, Jr. in the Louis XV style.
The Ball Room, decorated with crystal chandeliers and fine plaster decoration, is one of the few rooms that remained relatively unaltered by Hunt's work.
The Dining Room is, like the Library, in Renaissance Revival style, and was also built in Italy.
The Billiard Room is in the East Lake style, with oak timbers aligned diagonally on the ceiling, and herringbone flooring.
The Library has an ITALIAN design, and was actually designed and built in Italy, then disassembled and transported to Newport.
The Marble Hall Way originally served as the house's main entrance, and is finished a variety of different marble colous.
It was closed off in 1920 by replacing the main door with a bay window.
The Green Room served as a ladies' reception area, and was designed in 1900 by Ogden Codman, Jr. in the Louis XV style.
The Ball Room, decorated with crystal chandeliers and fine plaster decoration, is one of the few rooms that remained relatively unaltered by Hunt's work.
The Dining Room is, like the Library, in Renaissance Revival style, and was also built in Italy.
Unlike most of the "cottages" built in Newport during this period, Chateau-sur-Mer was one of the few built as a year round residence.
This was because the Wetmores were a New-England family (rather than outsider summer Manhattanites) who made Newport their home.
George Wetmore was very active in Rhode Island politics during the late 19th century.
A lifelong Republican, Wetmore was a member of the Electoral College of 1880 and again in 1884.
In 1885 Wetmore was electedGovernor of Rhode Island, and went on the win re-election in 1886, but was defeated in an attempt for a third term in 1887.
In 1894, the Rhode Island General Assembly elected Wetmore to the United States Senate, where Wetmore remained until 1913.
In the Senate, Wetmore served on the Naval Affairs Committee and the Appropriations Committee.
This was because the Wetmores were a New-England family (rather than outsider summer Manhattanites) who made Newport their home.
George Wetmore was very active in Rhode Island politics during the late 19th century.
A lifelong Republican, Wetmore was a member of the Electoral College of 1880 and again in 1884.
In 1885 Wetmore was electedGovernor of Rhode Island, and went on the win re-election in 1886, but was defeated in an attempt for a third term in 1887.
In 1894, the Rhode Island General Assembly elected Wetmore to the United States Senate, where Wetmore remained until 1913.
In the Senate, Wetmore served on the Naval Affairs Committee and the Appropriations Committee.
The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1968 and purchased by the Preservation Society of Newport County in 1969.
It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2006.
It was declared a National Historic Landmark in 2006.
The former carriage house and stables for the Chateau-Sur-Mer estate are currently being renovated as a center for visual art and cultural and historic preservation known as "Wetmore Hall.
See also
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to Chateau-sur-Mer. |
- List of Gilded Age mansions
- List of National Historic Landmarks in Rhode Island
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Newport County, Rhode Island
References
Hopf, John T. (1976). The Complete Book of Newport Mansions.
Paul L. Veeder, II, "The Outbuildings and Grounds of Chateau-sur-Mer", The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, Vol. 29, No. 4 (Dec., 1970), pages 307–317
John R. Tschirch, James Garman, Patty Henry, and Beth L. Savage (April 29, 2005). "National Historic Landmark Nomination: Chateau-sur-Mer" (pdf). National Park Service.
"National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. 2007-01-23.
"Chateau-sur-Mer". National Historic Landmark summary listing. National Park Service. Retrieved 2008-02-21.
2003 Herald News Article on Fall River Granite "NHL nomination for Chateau-sur-Mer" (PDF). National Park Service. Retrieved 2014-11-03.
- The Preservation Society of Newport County - Chateau-sur-Mer main page
- The Preservation Society of Newport County - Preserving Chateau-sur-Mer
- Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) No. RI-313, "Chateau-sur-Mer, Bellevue Avenue, Newport, Newport County, RI", 34 photos, 12 measured drawings, 17 data pages, 2 photo caption pages
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Categories:
- Historic district contributing properties in Rhode Island
- Historic house museums in Rhode Island
- Houses in Newport County, Rhode Island
- Museums in Newport, Rhode Island
- Salve Regina University
- Houses completed in 1852
- Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island
- National Historic Landmarks in Rhode Island
- Historic American Buildings Survey in Rhode Island
- Richard Morris Hunt buildings
- Châteauesque architecture in the United States
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