Chateau-Sur-Mer
Newport, Rhode Island
AWARD: for the meticulous exterior restoration of this National Historic Landmark, the first of Newport’s new era of Gilded Age mansions, that was designed by three architects over the period 1852-1915, and has been open to the public as a house museum since 1969.
The mansion owes its current appearance largely to its expansion in the Second Empire Style by architect Richard Morris Hunt in 1873-80. It remained in the Wetmore family until purchased with its original furnishings in 1969 by the Preservation Society of Newport County.
Water and wind damage over the years necessitated a complete exterior restoration that included removal, cleaning, and reinstallation of the slate roof; restoration of skylights, ornamental ironwork, and woodwork; and replication of the metal veranda roof. The house is a focus of study for the Victorian Society’s Newport Summer School.