Gilded Pineapple at the Colony House (Richard Munday,1741)
The Pineapple: Newport’s Symbol of Hospitality
During the Colonial period of Newport, Rhode Island’s history, the pineapple reigned supreme as an enduring symbol of hospitality. How is it that a tropical fruit, so far removed from that fruit’s Caribbean origins, came to take on so much importance in a New England community? The story is rooted in the city’s golden age as a bustling colonial seaport and a major hub for trade.
Hunter House (1748)
The tradition dates back to the mid-17th century. Newport’s wealth was built on maritime trade, and its skilled mariners regularly navigated the trade routes to the West Indies. These voyages brought back not only sugar, rum, and molasses, but also exotic, highly coveted pineapples. The fruit was a rare, expensive, and perishable commodity; one fresh pineapple was estimated to be worth $8,000 in today’s currency, making its display at a dinner table a profound statement of status, prosperity, and generosity.
Gilded Pineapple at the Hunter House (1748)
Upon a sea captain’s safe return, local lore states that placing a fresh pineapple outside his home became a distinctive signal. It announced a successful voyage, a home open to friends and neighbors, and represented an invitation to partake in the fresh goods and hear tales of trade and travel. The pineapple was therefore transformed from merely an expensive and rare fruit into a tangible expression of warmth, welcome, and the host’s willingness to spare no expense for their honored guests.
Seamen’s Church Institute (Frederic Rhinelander King, 1930)
This maritime tradition quickly permeated Newport’s architecture and decorative arts, cementing its place in the city’s cultural ethos. As the fresh fruit was too fleeting to be a permanent fixture, craftsmen began carving, painting, and sculpting the pineapple into longer-lasting symbols of hospitality. Today in the City-by-the-Sea, the iconic fruit adorns everything from gateposts and door knockers to finials atop grand staircases and pediments (like the gilded pineapple capping the historic Colony House or painted pineapple gracing the Hunter House door pediment.
Gilded Pineapple at Seamen’s Church Institute (Frederic Rhinelander King, 1930)
The pineapple’s presence in Newport today is nearly ubiquitous. Whether it be the logo of the Preservation Society of Newport County or the symbol painted on the wall at the Newport Real Tennis court, pineapples appear on flags, signage, and souvenirs. It is a beloved icon of holiday displays, keeping a centuries-old tradition alive. More than just a charming architectural detail, the Newport pineapple is a nod to its seafaring past and an enduring promise of welcome to every visitor, and has become a beloved symbol of Newport itself.
Logo of the Preservation Society of Newport County
If you wish to have your New England home, store, restaurant, or building be a sophisticated symbol of graciousness, please reach out to A4 Architecture to assist you in achieving your goal.
Ross Sinclair Cann, RA, AIA is a historian, educator, and practicing architect living and working in Newport and is the Founding Principal of A4 Architecture. He holds architecture degrees from Yale, Cambridge, and Columbia Universities.