View source for Chateau-sur-Mer

{{short description|Historic house in Rhode Island, United States}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}

{{Infobox NRHP
| name                  = Chateau-sur-Mer
| nrhp_type             = nhl
| image                 = 
Chateau-sur-Mer.jpg
| caption               = Chateau-sur-Mer, Newport, Rhode Island.
| location              = 474 Bellevue Avenue, [[Newport, Rhode Island]]
| coordinates           = {{coord|41|28|16.5|N|71|18|19|W|display=inline,title}}
| locmapin              = Rhode Island#USA

| mapframe             = yes
| mapframe-marker      = building
| mapframe-zoom        = 12
|mapframe-caption      = Interactive map showing the location of Chateau-sur-Mer

| area                  = {{convert|17|acre|m2}}<ref name="nrhpinv2"/>
| built                 = 1851
| architect             = [[Seth C. Bradford]] <small>(construction)</small><br>
[[Richard Morris Hunt]] <small>(renovations)</small>
[[Ogden Codman, Jr.]] <small>(design)</small>
| architecture          = Mid 19th Century Revival
| designated_nrhp_type  = February 17, 2006<ref name="nhlsum">{{cite web 
 |url=http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=-1108232683&ResourceType=Building 
 |title=Chateau-sur-Mer 
 |accessdate=2008-02-21 
 |work=National Historic Landmark summary listing 
 |publisher=National Park Service 
 |url-status=dead 
 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090812035946/http://tps.cr.nps.gov/nhl/detail.cfm?ResourceId=-1108232683&ResourceType=Building 
 |archivedate=2009-08-12 
 }}</ref>
| added                 = November 8, 1968<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2007a}}</ref>
| refnum                = 68000002
| nrhp_type2            = nhldcp
| nocat                 = yes
| designated_nrhp_type2 = December 8, 1972
| partof                = [[Bellevue Avenue Historic District]]
| partof_refnum         = 72000023
}}

'''Chateau-sur-Mer''' is one of the first grand [[Bellevue Avenue Historic District|Bellevue Avenue]] mansions of the [[Gilded Age]] in [[Newport, Rhode Island]]. Located at 474 Bellevue Avenue, it is now owned by the [[Preservation Society of Newport County]] and is open to the public as a museum. Chateau-sur-Mer's grand scale and lavish parties ushered in the [[Gilded Age]] of Newport, as it was the most palatial residence in Newport until the [[Vanderbilt family|Vanderbilt]] houses in the 1890s.  It was designated a [[National Historic Landmark]] in 2006.

==Description and history==
Chateau-sur-Mer was completed in 1852 as an [[Italianate architecture|Italianate]] villa for [[William Shepard Wetmore]], a merchant in the [[Old China Trade]] originally of [[St. Albans (town), Vermont|St. Albans, Vermont]]. The architect and builder was [[Seth C. Bradford]], and the structure is constructed of [[Fall River Granite]]. It is regarded as a landmark of Victorian architecture, furniture, wallpapers, ceramics, and stenciling.<ref>[http://www.sailsinc.org/durfee/localrock.pdf 2003 Herald News Article on Fall River Granite]</ref>

Wetmore died on June 16, 1862, at Chateau-sur-Mer, leaving the bulk of his fortune to his son [[George Peabody Wetmore]].  George married Edith Keteltas in 1869. During the 1870s, the Wetmores departed on an extended trip to Europe, leaving architect [[Richard Morris Hunt]] to remodel and redecorate the house in the French [[Second Empire (architecture)|Second Empire]] style. As a result, Chateau-sur-Mer displays most of the major design trends of the last half of the 19th century. Hunt's alterations greatly expanded the house, adding a new three-story wing, a porte-cochere, and a projecting four-story tower with mansard roof.  The carriage house was also enlarged, in a manner sympathetic to Bradford's original design.  Hunt also designed the entrance gate of the estate which is somewhat Greek Revival in style, but with posts modeled after Egyptian [[obelisk]]s.<ref name=NHL>{{cite web|url={{NHLS url|id=68000002}}|title=NHL nomination for Chateau-sur-Mer|publisher=National Park Service|accessdate=2014-11-03}}</ref>

The centerpiece of the mansion's interior is its great hall, a massive three-story chamber with a {{convert|45|ft|m|adj=on}} ceiling and broad balconies.  The billiard room is in the [[Eastlake movement|Eastlake style]], with oak timbers aligned diagonally on the ceiling and herringbone flooring.  The library has an Italianate design and was actually designed and built in Italy, then disassembled and transported to Newport.  The marble hallway originally served as the house's main entrance and is finished with a variety of different marble colors.  It was closed off in 1920 by replacing the main door with a bay window.  The green room served as a ladies' reception area and was designed in 1900 by [[Ogden Codman, Jr.]] in the [[Louis XV style]].  The ballroom is decorated with crystal chandeliers and fine plaster, one of the few rooms that remained relatively unaltered by Hunt's work.  The dining room is in Renaissance Revival style and was also built in Italy.<ref name=NHL/>

Chateau-sur-Mer was one of the few Newport "cottages" built as a year-round residence, unlike most of the others built during this period, because the Wetmores were a New England family who made Newport their home.  George was very active in Rhode Island politics during the late 19th century and a lifelong [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]. He was a member of the [[Electoral College (United States)|Electoral College]] of 1880 and again in 1884; he was elected [[Governor of Rhode Island]] in 1885 and went on to win re-election in 1886, but he was defeated in an attempt for a third term in 1887.  In 1894, the Rhode Island General Assembly elected him to the [[United States Senate]], where he remained until 1913.

The house was added to the [[National Register of Historic Places]] in 1968 and purchased by the [[Preservation Society of Newport County]] in 1969.  It was declared a [[National Historic Landmark]] in 2006.<ref name="nrhpinv2">{{Cite journal|title=National Historic Landmark Nomination: Chateau-sur-Mer|url={{NHLS url|id=68000002}} |format=pdf|date=April 29, 2005 |author1=John R. Tschirch |author2=James Garman |author3=Patty Henry |author4=Beth L. Savage |publisher=National Park Service}}</ref><ref name="nhlsum"/> The former carriage house and stables for the Chateau-Sur-Mer estate are owned by [[Salve Regina University]] and are currently being renovated as a center for visual art and preservation known as the Antone Center.

== See also ==
{{Portal|Rhode Island}}
{{Commons category|Chateau-sur-Mer}}
*[[List of Gilded Age mansions]]
*[[List of National Historic Landmarks in Rhode Island]]
*[[National Register of Historic Places listings in Newport County, Rhode Island]]

==References==
*Hopf, John T. (1976). ''The Complete Book of Newport Mansions.''
*Paul L. Veeder, II, "The Outbuildings and Grounds of Chateau-sur-Mer", ''The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians'', Vol. 29, No. 4 (Dec., 1970), pages 307–317.
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://tickets.newportmansions.org/mansion.aspx?id=1005 The Preservation Society of Newport County - Chateau-sur-Mer main page] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070204235050/http://tickets.newportmansions.org/mansion.aspx?id=1005 |date=February 4, 2007 }}
*[http://www.newportmansions.org/page11586.cfm The Preservation Society of Newport County - Preserving Chateau-sur-Mer] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070523061934/http://www.newportmansions.org/page11586.cfm |date=May 23, 2007 }}
*{{HABS |survey=RI-313 |id=ri0341 |title=Chateau-sur-Mer, Bellevue Avenue, Newport, Newport County, RI |photos=34 |dwgs=12 |data=17 |cap=2}}

==Images==
<gallery>
Image:Chateau-sur-Mer, Newport, Rhode Island, monkee seat.jpg|The monkey seat and Moon Gate at Chateau-Sur-Mer
File:Weeping_European_Beech_Tree_at_Chateau-sur-Mer,_Newport,_RI_-_August_29,_2015.jpg|Weeping European Beech at Chateau-Sur-Mer
File:Turkey_Oak_at_Chateau-sur-Mer,_Newport,_RI_-_August_29,_2015.jpg|Turkey Oak at Chateau-Sur-Mer
File:Chateau Sur Mer, Newport, RI.JPG|Chateau Sur Mer
File:Chateau sur Mer, Newport RI.jpg|Chateau sur Mer
File:Chateau-sur-Mer front.jpg|Chateau-sur-Mer front
</gallery>
{{Salve Regina University|state=autocollapse}}
{{Newport Mansions}}
{{National Register of Historic Places}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chateau-Sur-Mer}}
[[Category:Historic house museums in Rhode Island]]
[[Category:Houses in Newport, Rhode Island]]
[[Category:Museums in Newport, Rhode Island]]
[[Category:Salve Regina University]]
[[Category:Houses completed in 1852]]
[[Category:Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island]]
[[Category:National Historic Landmarks in Rhode Island]]
[[Category:Historic American Buildings Survey in Rhode Island]]
[[Category:Richard Morris Hunt buildings]]
[[Category:Châteauesque architecture in the United States]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Newport, Rhode Island]]
[[Category:1852 establishments in Rhode Island]]
[[Category:Individually listed contributing properties to historic districts on the National Register in Rhode Island]]
[[Category:Gilded Age mansions]]