Isaac Bell House, 70 Perry Street, Newport, Newport County, RI

Significance: This large house, built as a summer "cottage" in 1882-1883, is an early work of the architects McKim, Mead, and White. It is a typical example of the Shingle Style, and it is distinguished by the extreme open character of its planning.

Designed for Isaac Bell, a wealthy cotton broker and investor, the house passed through a succession of owners until the Preservation Society of Newport County bought it in 1996. The Society tours note that the Isaac Bell House was "remarkably innovative when it appeared in 1883. It is a combination of Old English and European architecture with colonial American and exotic details, such as a Japanese-inspired open floor plan and bamboo-style porch columns."
Survey number: HABS RI-308
Building/structure dates: 1882-1883 Initial Construction
Building/structure dates: after 1996 Subsequent Work
National Register of Historic Places NRIS Number: 97001276