National Register of Historic Places - Rhode Island Historical ...

N i’c i oi in ‘0 qI’0 WAI I II. i ‘0:4 - .10111
lii, 10-11-114
United States Department of the Interior -
National Park Service For P8’S usa only
National Register of Historic Places
Inventory-Nomination Form -.
Continuation sheet 60 . Item number a
received
date entered
Page 7
IV a tch Hill’s heyday lasted from the 1880s through the early decades
of the twentieth century By the end of this period the hotels had
sl i_pp e d into decline and the community had become primarily a cottage
colony. The P1 ympton House and Larkin House were both demoli shed in 1906,
the latter to c lear the way for an end ave of new summer houses . ‘there
after, a series of disasters had a significant impact on the plnys ical
fabric of the a rca. A fire in Octoher 1916 destroyed the Watch lii ii and
Colonial forme rly the Atlantic Houses, -the upper floors of the Co iurnhi a
House, and two dwellings. Another fire in February 1938 consumed eight
structures in t he village. The worst damage by far was wrought by the
hurricane of 21 September 1938. Thirty-nine cottages and five huil dings
of the Watch Hill Beacln Assoc iation were swept off Napatree Point, and
eight other -houses were damaged by winds gusting up to 200 miles p er hour
and high seas that flooded buildings atop forty-foot bluffs alon g East
Beach. After the hutricane most homes and shops were repaired a md tine
beach association and yacht club buildings were replaced, hut no houses
were huilt on Napa tree, and the present undeveloped state of the point i.
an outcome of this devastating storm.
Although a number of new buildings have been constructed here in the
past forty-five years, Watch Hill remains primarily a product of--its de
velopment as a resort during the years from 1870 through 1940. ‘the houses
in the district ‘exemplify American domestic architecture of the late n ftc
teenth and early twentieth century. They i llustiate the use of eclectic ism
to create a form of arclnitectnral expression based on an inventive synthesis
of elements adapted from historical sources. They reflect the evolution
from the more idiosyncratic compositions .of the 1$80s, which often combined
features from different styles, to the more academic designs for period
houses in the 1910s and 1920s . Most dwellings from the earlier ye-ar s are
in a i-tytlrld style coiinbinng characteristics of the Queen Anne with those
of the. Modern Colonial or Shingle Sty-Ic, often with asymmetrical, artfully
picturesque massing influenced by European medieval design. The academicism
that dominated architectural practice after 1910 brought a change to more
studied dwellings in style such as the Colonial Revival, English
lucto r Rev I t’a I , and Norman Pa i-mhou s e . St Cottage,
i ii , ma nv houses o C the I 9 I Is a nd
1920s to I towed a ha sic Co rmn;n t den ved from tine Co 111 Ia I Rev i va I w I I: ii ‘‘no ci e 1.11’’
touches such as deep overhanging eaves witin extended-rafter stick hracket I ng.
This country-house architecture for tile well-to -do represented the epi tome
of good taste and served as a, model for tine des ign of- middle-ciass sIlIlIII il :n 11
res I dences . -
The houses at Watch HiLl are also notable is a collection of butldings
by archi tects from all over
custom in, -resort communities
the
of
Uni ted
seasonal States, a consequence
residents bringing
of the common
in outside
See Continua t ion Sheet / 61