Chateau-sur-Mer, Bellevue Avenue, Newport, Newport County, RI

Significance: "Chateau-sur-Mer," its lodge, entrance arch, and greenhouse were built in 1851-1852 by the Newport contractor Seth C. Bradford for William Shepard Wetmore, merchant in the China trade. His son, George Peabody Wetmore, greatly enlarged the house in successive major campaigns in the 1870s and 1880s under Richard Morris Hunt, with interior decoration by Luigi Frullini. Wetmore further developed the outbuildings and grounds. His daughters, Edith and Maude Wetmore, maintained the house in proper style until their deaths. The estate was sold at auction in 1969 to The Preservation Society of Newport County.

Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: FN-50

Survey number: HABS RI-313

Building/structure dates: 1854 Initial Construction

Building/structure dates: 1870-1880 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 1903

Building/structure dates: ca. 1920 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: ca. 1930 Subsequent Work

National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 68000002

houses historic house museums mansard roofs second empire architectural elements porches stone carving towers newport bellevue bellevue avenue newport county domestic life jack e boucher seth bradford ogden codman leslie divoll luigi frullili historic american buildings survey gerron s hite richard morris hunt frederic rhinelander king osmund r overby john russell pope preservation society of newport county rhode island historical preservation commission thomas j sanford thomas m slade paul l veeder edith wetmore george peabody wetmore maude wetmore william shepard wetmore photo rhode island building plans architectural diagrams library of congress national register of historic places

1930

Library of Congress

http://www.loc.gov/

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