Hunter House (c.1748 by Peter Harrison)
“First we shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us,” Winston Churchill famously declared, capturing the profound, reciprocal relationship between humanity and its built environment. Architecture is far more than mere shelter; it is the physical chronicle of human existence of its era. It is a tangible record of the philosophy, technology, economics, and societal values of the time of its creation. In this sense, Architecture is our collective autobiography written in stone, wood, and steel.
Each structure tells a story of the ideas that preoccupied its creators. The soaring vaults and light-filled naves of a Gothic cathedral speak of a society consumed by faith and the aspiration for divine connection. Conversely, the stark, functional lines of the Bauhaus movement reflect a post-war world embracing industrial technology and a rational, democratic philosophy. As the architect Frank Lloyd Wright asserted, “The mother art is architecture. Without an architecture of our own we have no soul of our own civilization.” The buildings we choose to erect are manifestations of our collective soul.
There are few places in the United States where this narrative more vividly evidenced than in Newport, Rhode Island. This city is home to an extraordinary architectural treasury, and is a living museum where different chapters of American history stand side-by-side. Newport is home to hundreds of Colonial Era houses and structures. Buildings like the Hunter House (c.1748) display the intentional imitation of British architectural models, but translated to the practical needs of North American materials, climate and financial limitations.
The Touro Synagogue (1763), built at the later part of the Colonial Period by the architect Peter Harrison, reflects the sober, elegant proportions of the Enlightenment ideals of reason and religious tolerance that were foundational to the nascent nation. The building’s design is a testament to the philosophy of a community seeking refuge and celebrating the freedom to practice the Jewish faith openly.
A century later, a vastly different story unfolded along Bellevue Avenue. The invention of the Shingle Style, as seen in the Newport Casino (1880), demonstrated the newfound confidence among American architects like McKim, Mead, and White to create a new, wholly American style architecture, clad in the cedar shingles that were so abundant to the North American continent. Elegant and yet relaxed, this style captured the new economic capabilities of the merchants who commissioned them to construct summer cottage created specifically for entertainment and leisure.
Just a few years later, the enormous and highly ornate “cottages,” such as The Breakers (1896), are monuments to evolution of the American economic circumstance of the Gilded Age. Fueled by unprecedented industrial fortunes (economics) and enabled by modern steel-frame construction and advanced utilities (technology), these opulent palaces were built not for quiet contemplation, but for the conspicuous display of wealth and power. They embody the societal stratification and ambition of an era dominated by titans of industry.
From its colonial-era clapboard homes, conveying tales of maritime trade and practicality, to its Shingle Style cottages, to its Gilded Age mansions proclaiming industrial might, Newport demonstrates why Architecture is indispensable to understanding our past. It is the language through which history speaks most directly to us since building is always the most communal art. In viewing these architectural monuments, we are not just looking at buildings; we are reading the story of a changing nation. As Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once mused, “Architecture is frozen music,” and in Newport, one can hear the symphony of American civilization, from the city’s founding until the present day—if one takes the time and effort to pay close attention.
If you wish to add to the story of your time and make your architectural mark in New England, please reach out to A4 Architecture to help assist you. We look forward to creating something extraordinary together.
Ross Cann, RA, AIA, LEED AP, is an author, historian, and practicing architect living and working in Newport, RI. He holds degrees in Architecture and Architectural History from Yale, Cambridge, and Columbia Universities. He is the Founding Principal of A4 Architecture and teaches Architectural History in the Circle of Scholars program at Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island.