"Seafair" (Newport, Rhode Island)

USA / Rhode Island / Newport / Newport, Rhode Island / Ocean Avenue, 254
 residence, French Renaissance (architecture)
Terre Mar, Hurricane Hut, Seafair, the Verner Zavola Reed, Jr, House (1934-35, 1986; William MacKenzie [British] (1934-35) and The Newport Collaborative (1986), architects):

An impressive brick-and-limestone 1½- and 2½-story, slate-hip-roof, Louis XIII-revival house with curved quadrant wings extending east and west from the main block part way around the elliptical forecourt leaving only the northernmost third open. The main block has a 2½-story, 3-bay, center-entrance, high-hip-roof projecting pavilion, reached across a semi-circular-plan urn-balustraded terrace, and is flanked east and west by 1½-story, 2-bay, high-hip-roof pavilions; the double-leaf glazed entrance has a large transom light as do the flanking 1st story full-height casement windows, and smaller casement windows are on the 2nd level in both central and flanking pavilions, within a full 2nd story on the central block and as standing-seam hip-roof dormers on the flanking pavilions. The 3-bay east and west quadrant wings have center entrances flanked by full-height windows and oculus dormers. Symmetrically placed tall brick chimneys punctuate the roofline, 2 each on each side of the 2½-story central pavilion, 1 each at the intersection of the 1½-story pavilions and the quadrant wings, and 1 each near the north end of the quadrant wings; finial cresting occurs at the ends of the ridgelines of all the rooflines. The seaside elevation of the main block has 1½-story, 1-bay, hip-roof pavilions flanking a bow-plan, 1-story, flatroof, glazed central section overlooking a small paved terrace and a low-wall-lined grass terrace with central hemicycle extending toward the rocky beach. A 2nd terrace extends from the west wall of the south elevation’s west pavilion, and the axis thereby established culminates in a walled formal garden, with 4 parterres, central circular fountain, and colonnaded pavilion to the north.

Reed (1900-1986), heir to the Cripple Creek, Colorado, gold-mining fortune and Greenwich, Connecticut, resident, became a vice-president at Chase Manhattan Bank; in 1981 President Reagan appointed him Ambassador to Morocco. Following his death, the house was divided into condominiums.

The last of the high-style summer cottages of Newport’s golden age, this château is a stunning valediction. It achieves a monumentality disproportionate to its actual size, thanks to the visual trick of its imposing roadside entrance gate and its location near the south end of its 5-acre site at the end of a long, curving entrance drive. It is a highly visible building that dominates this section of the district.
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   41°27'15"N   71°19'54"W

Comments

  • In another deal this month, Richard Bready, chairman and chief executive of Nortek Inc., a Providence, R.I., building products company, agreed to buy Sea Fair for $2.95 million -- more than the $2.7 million asking price and the highest sale price for a Newport home since 1992. I think this is from late 90's
  • 2013 - On the market for 19m - http://www.golocalprov.com/real_estate/rhode-island-dream-house-of-the-week-seafair/
  • The 19m listing is for one of the condos which contains most of the property (15,800 sq ft), there is another listing for a second condo for $3m (2,500 sq ft)
  • Was just purchased...
  • Joseph Vernon Reed Jr, former ambassador to Morocco 1981-1985, was born in 1937. It appears to be more likely that Seafair was built by his father, Joseph Vernon Z Reed. (1902-1973) The grandfather of Joseph Vernon Reed, Jr. was Vernon Reed (1863-1919) born in Ohio, became one of Colorado's richest men from gold mining.
  • Owned now by Jay Leno
  • Show all comments
This article was last modified 3 years ago