A4 Spotlight: The 2024 Doris Duke Historic Preservation Awards

18th Annual Doris Duke Awards Invite Cover

Newport has a rich history visible through the charm of many of its beautifully designed historic buildings and homes. Responsibility for the preservation and maintenance of these buildings has fallen to the people who presently inhabit the community. Newport’s culture and history have also gone through many shifts through its long existence. In 2007, to celebrate the people and projects that epitomize the value and benefit to the community that preserving the wonderful buildings of Newport County brings, the City of Newport and the Newport Restoration Foundation partnered to create the Doris Duke Preservation Awards.

Doris Duke, the inspiration of this award, was a famous Newport socialite who was well known for her philanthropy and love of Newport’s historic architecture. She had a particular passion for saving colonial buildings, as well as founded the Newport Restoration Foundation which purchased, renovated, and now rents more than eighty Colonial Era houses and buildings in Newport. This year was the 18th annual Award Gala held both virtually and in person on September 6th, 2024. Awards were given out to honor acts of preservation, restoration, and maintenance of Newport’s historic character. This year, two individuals and four projects were honored.

Mrs. Hope “Happy” Van Beuren was honored with a President’s award for her many efforts at restoring Newport’s architectural monuments and around $70 Million donated over the years by the Van Beuren Charitable Trust. Mr. Charles A. Dana was also recognized with President’s Award for his exemplary contributions to historic preservation in Newport and for his restoration of the Newport Shipyards, which has helped restore Newport as a destination for major yacht restoration. The Doris Duke Historic Preservation Awards are a valuable event that celebrates the importance of preserving historic places and recognizes the dedication and hard work of those who are committed to this important cause.

With regard to individual projects, four were selected from among the many nominations. One of the criteria these prizes seek to reward are those projects that employed innovative techniques and materials, such as historic preservation tax credits and adaptive reuse. A second important selection component is that they demonstrate community involvement in historic preservation and the positive impact of preservation efforts on local economies and quality of life of the broader population.

 

Belmont Chapel (c. 1887), Newport, RI – Awarded to the Belmont Chapel Foundation, for the detailed restoration of Belmont Chapel, a funeral chapel designed by George Champlin Mason in Island Cemetery circa 1887. The project not only saved the building from possible demolition, but also reactivated the surrounding cemetery by providing a space to host burial services, lectures, and events.

 

Watson Farm (ca. 1796), Jamestown, RI – Awarded to Historic New England, for the effort to preserve historic farm structures and mitigate severe storm water drainage problems at Watson Farm in Jamestown, RI. By preparing the site and its structures to withstand increasingly intense and frequent precipitation events, Historic New England mitigated significant threats to surviving historic fabric and demonstrated how to thoughtfully and effectively balance preservation priorities with the realities of climate change.

Hilltop (ca. 1871), Newport, RI – Awarded to John and Margherita Marshall, for exemplary millwork restoration and best practices completed by local tradespeople at Hilltop, the house designed by Richard Morris Hunt circa 1871 and expanded by William Ralph Emerson circa 1895. The project highlights quality artisanship and skill as well as the need for continued investment in perpetuating the historic trades.

The Calvert, formerly the Cranston-Calvert School, Newport (ca. 1876), Newport, RI – Awarded to BCM Realty, for the adaptive use of “The Calvert” into deeply needed workforce housing. With citywide costs of rent increasing and multi-family housing options not keeping pace with demand, this creative conversion of a large vacant property preserved both the residential scale and met the community housing needs of the Broadway neighborhood.

A4 Architecture is pleased to have helped its clients win many Doris Duke Preservation Awards over the years, and we hope to help to design many more in the future. Newport is a city in which its future prosperity is often built on the heritage of its past, and it is wonderful that this connection continues to be celebrated by these awards now into their eighteenth year.

Ross Sinclair Cann, AIA is a historian, educator and practicing architect. He is the Founding Principal of A4 Architecture in Newport, Rhode Island and holds architecture degrees from Yale, Cambridge and Columbia Universities. A4 Architecture has assisted its clients in winning three Doris Duke Preservation Awards since the awards were created in 2007.