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The Newport Casino is located at 186-202 Bellevue Avenue Newport, Rhode Island. It was designated a National Historic Landmark on February 27, 1987.
History 1879 - 1900
The complex was commissioned in 1880 by James Gordon Bennett, Jr.. Legend states that Bennett placed a bet with his friend Captain Henry Augustus Candy that he would not ride his horse up onto the front porch of the Reading Room. Candy won this bet, but the Governors of the Reading Room were not amused. Bennett and his infamous short temper did not take this kindly, and soon set about creating his own retreat, what would eventually become The Newport Casino.
Soon after deciding to create his own social club, Bennett purchased the Sidney Brooks estate, Villa". directly across the street was a vacant lot, suitable for construction of the Casino. Bennett hired Charles McKim (soon to be of the firm McKim, Mead, and White) to design the Casino, and by January of 1880 Nathan Barker of Newport, RI, was contracted to begin construction.
The interior of the Casino, while generally outlined by McKim, was entrusted to Stanford White. Taking many elements and cues from the Japanese Pavilion at the 1876 Centennial International Exhibition in Philiadephia, White provided for a plan that was both secluded and open.
The Newport Casino opened to its first patrons in July of 1881, and the general public got their first view in August of 1881.
It stands today as one of the finest examples of Victorian shingle-style architecture in the world. The buildings are generally well preserved, except for the Theatre which is in poor condition.
Buildings
The complex includes:
- The Casino (shops, a restaurant, offices, and the International Tennis Hall of Fame)
- Horseshoe Piazza and Court
- Bill Talbert Stadium
- Court Tennis Building (The National Court Tennis Club)
- Theatre
- Indoor tennis courts (Newport Casino Indoor Racquet Club)
- Various grass tennis courts (Newport Casino Lawn Tennis Club)
Sports
The club was never a public gambling establishment. Originally casino meant a small villa built for pleasure. During the 19th century, the term casino came to include other buildings where social activities took place.
In its heyday in the Gilded Age, the Newport Casino offered a wide array of social diversions to the summer colony including archery, billiards, bowling, concerts, dancing, dining, horse shows, lawn bowling, reading, real tennis, tea parties, and theatricals. It was best known as the home of American lawn tennis. It hosted the 1881-1914 National Championship, later called the U.S. Open.
Today there is still an active grass-court tennis club, as well as an indoor tennis club.
The Court Tennis Building burned down in 1945, but was rebuilt in 1980. It is home to the National Tennis Club.
References
- Historic American Buildings Survey No. HABS RI-331
External links
1880 establishments | McKim, Mead, and White buildings | National Historic Landmarks of the United States | Newport County, Rhode Island | Registered Historic Places in Rhode Island | Landmarks in Rhode Island | Sports venues in Rhode Island | Tennis venues in the United States
"Newport Casino"