Isaac Bell House
70 Perry St., Newport, Rhode Island
The Isaac Bell House should delight anyone fascinated by architecture. One of the country's best examples of shingle-style architecture, its designers sought to birth a new architectural movement that combined global influences to create something quintessentially American. The result was the Isaac Bell House, now maintained by the Preservation Society of Newport County and open to visitors.
The Isaac Bell House was built in 1883 for the investor and cotton broker of the same name. Its shingle-style exterior is an architectural type that was pioneered in Newport, with unpainted shingles, unadorned windows and trim, and porches everywhere possible.
Visitors will find rooms largely empty—that’s to emphasize the rooms themselves. Guided tours will illuminate elements of the English Arts and Crafts movement, colonial American detailing, and the Japanese-inspired floor plan. Unlike its Gilded Age siblings, it delights in materials like rattan.
The Isaac Bell House is one of the few Newport mansions that requires timed entry—purchase your tickets in advance online.
Guided tours are limited to groups of 12.
The house is not wheelchair-accessible.
The Isaac Bell House sits on the corner of Perry and Bellevue Avenue. If you’re making a day of historic Newport, it’s easily walkable from sites like The Elms and Kingscote. Otherwise, free parking is available onsite; rideshares and taxis can get you there if you don’t have a personal vehicle.
The Isaac Bell House is usually only open on weekends in May—check the Preservation Society of Newport County’s website for current hours. You’ll need a booked guided tour for entry; those are generally offered six times a day. Be sure to arrive roughly 15 minutes in advance of your scheduled time.
Though built during the Gilded Age, the Isaac Bell House went for something totally modern—and thus looks different than almost every other historical house you’ll see in Newport. With a succession of owners (and previously used as an apartment complex and assisted living), it’s undergone extensive renovations to return it to its peculiar glory.
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