Data sheets of historic buildings in Newport, Rhode Island surveyed by the Preservation Society of Newport County in a 1965 Historic Zoning Survey, and some additional photographs and newspaper clippings of the surveyed buildings.
This collection includes the Preservation Society of Newport County’s data sheets from their 1965 zoning survey of historic buildings in Newport. This survey was conducted on Preservation Society of Newport County stationery dated July 1965. These sheets include fields for information concerning the year built, present owner, architect, material, architectural style, and the original and present use of the buildings, as well as descriptive notes about the properties and an evaluation of historical significance, architectural significance, importance to neighborhood, desecration of original design, and physical condition. These fields are not complete on every data sheet in this collection. The collection is primarily of historic buildings that have historical importance to the community of Newport.
This collection also includes photographs of most of the buildings surveyed, Newport Daily News clippings from articles about Mawdsley House, Allan Building, Tillinghast House, Sherman Clark House, and Clark Cook House, and a letter from Harold E. Watson, a consultant, with information about the Water Works building at 5 West Marlborough Street.
Identification of surveyors and photographers is missing from this collection.
This collection includes a folder for Levin Street, which has been renamed Memorial Boulevard.
The collection does not include records for street names beginning with A through F, and it is unknown if such records exist.
All researchers seeking to publish materials from the collections of the PSNC Archives and Special Collections are requested to contact the archivist, prior to reproducting, quoting, or otherwise publishing any portion or extract from this collection. Although the Preservation Society has physical ownership of the collection and the materials contained therein, it does not claim copyright ownership. It is up to the researcher to determine the owners of the copyright and to obtain any necessary permission from them.
The collection is open to the public, and there are no restrictions on access. However, the collection can only be seen by scheduled appointment.
Description or title of item, PSNCA.H.015: Historic Zoning Survey records, Box #, Folder #, Preservation Society of Newport County, Newport, RI.
The collection is organized alphabetically by street name, in a single series.
In July 1965, the Preservation Society of Newport County conducted a survey of the city’s historical buildings.
In 1964, Thomas T. Benson conducted a survey for the Preservation Society of Newport County of the city’s colonial houses as a preliminary step to restore more of Newport’s historical homes. This research may be connected to the Preservation Society’s 1965 survey of Newport’s historic buildings in this collection.
Beginning around January 1964, the Historic District Ordinance, a law that would designate certain areas of Newport as historic zones, was proposed. This would preserve buildings that were historically, culturally, and architecturally significant to the history of Newport. Public reception to the proposed ordinance was divided, many groups and individuals desired amendments to be made to the ordinance as they questioned the constitutionality of ordinance’s control over construction, reconstruction, and repair of the exterior of buildings within the historical zones, even if they were not historical buildings. The Preservation Society supported the proposal, with William W. Corcoran, attorney for the Preservation Society, representing the Preservation Society in public hearings in favor of the ordinance. Corcoran also presented the amendments that were made to the ordinance. The Historic District Ordinance was passed on January 20, 1965, after a council vote of 6-1. Mason D. Rector, vice president of the Preservation Society of Newport County, was elected temporary chairmen of the Historic District Commission in February 1965. This collection may be representative of the historic zoning done by the Historic District Commision in 1965 after the ordinance was passed.