ITALIANATE STYLE 1875 - 1890
Development of the East Row Addition by the Taylor family in the 1870s opened up a large area on the eastern edge of Newport for expansion. Many residences were built along East Row, which was later renamed Washington Avenue, and by the early 1880s numerous lots were sold and houses built along the 400, 500, and 600 blocks of Overton and Monroe Streets. The overwhelming architectural style utilized on these blocks was the Italianate style.
The Italianate style was the dominant architectural style in urban America from the 1860s to the early 1890s. The style was part of the Picturesque movement imported from Europe and was a derivative of the formal Italian Renaissance townhouses of the 15th and 16th centuries. The narrow lots of Newport were well suited for this style which featured extensive decoration on the main facades. Most buildings constructed in the East Row Addition were two story masonry residences with a number of smaller one story residences scattered throughout. Common features included stone quoins, belt courses of stone and/or brick which divided each floor, and elaborate metal, stone, or wood cornices at the roofline. Windows and doors were also embellished with stone, wood, or metal hood moldings in rectangular or rounded arch sash variations.
Many of the Newport houses were built with side passage entrances and had large half-stories or attics for additional living space or storage. The "Newport Plan" residence emerged during the Italianate era and this floor plan was utilized in the East Row area until the 1910s. The typical Newport Plan house has a side entrance which opens onto a foyer and stairwell. Rooms are arranged behind one another and lack a connecting side hallway. Variations of the Newport Plan include one or two story rear wings built at right angles to the main block. These wings often contain a secondary entrance on the first story.
Italianate style Newport Plan residence at 513 Lexington Avenue
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