Exhibits & Collections
Doris Duke's Extraordinary Vision: Saving Eighteenth Century Newport
In creating the Newport Restoration Foundation, Doris Duke had a simple plan: to purchase dilapidated 18th century homes and completely restore them from top to bottom. The NRF would maintain the houses and rent them as private living spaces. This model of "living preservation" was groundbreaking in the field of historic preservation. Saving eighty-three properties was an undertaking on a scale and scope that has never been repeated. Doris Duke gave $21.9 million to the Newport Restoration Foundation, the largest philanthropic gift she made to a single organization during her lifetime.
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Thames Street circa 1964
The Newport of the 1960s and 1970s was a vastly different place than it is today. Newport's colonial structures had survived into the twentieth century not because there were active efforts to save them, but from the inaction caused by urban decay, poverty, and unemployment. The more than three hundred and fifty surviving colonial buildings in Newport had been cheaply modified with outbuildings and additions rather than demolished for new construction. Hidden underneath the dilapidated facades was Newport's rich architectural history, awaiting its fate. Doris Duke's extraordinary vision in creating the Newport Restoration Foundation saved these buildings and provided a lifeline to the City by the Sea.
Doris Duke at Prescott Farm, circa 1969
Doris Duke officially founded the Newport Restoration Foundation in August 1968, but her connection was not revealed until the following November. She and her advisors realized that the real estate market would react when her involvement was made known.
Miss Duke had an active role in the restoration of eighty-three colonial structures and inspired numerous private homeowners to do their own projects. Her dedication to the NRF was not simply monetary; she was directly involved in the restoration process- approving plans at all stages of the work, frequently visiting the sites, and making paint and landscape decisions.
Restoration Projects List, June 1970
Miss Duke felt strongly that the NRF houses should retain the historical integrity of the colonial style while allowing for modern conveniences like plumbing and contemporary kitchens. With methodical research and documentation, each structure was restored by salvaging as much of its original fabric as possible. If there was little remaining physical evidence, the NRF could turn to its vast inventory of mantels, moldings, and house parts recovered from demolished colonial buildings. The architects and craftsmen could choose pieces that were appropriate for the structure or construct custom reproductions in the NRF's carpentry workshop.
Interior house restoration, Thames Street, circa 1970
By the mid 1970s, the NRF could purchase a house for around $10,000 and then put $70,000 worth of materials and labor into it. These expenditures could soar depending upon the size and condition of the building, and the finished product may have only had a market value of around $50,000. In 1970, only two years after its founding, the NRF leased its first house, the Alexander Jack House on Mill Street. Over the next eight years, the NRF completed an average of eight houses a year.
Paint colors and millwork
Each restoration was done as accurately as possible; small details like moldings, door hardware, and light fixtures were essential to recreating 18th century character within each restored house. Paint colors closely resemble the style of the eighteenth century.
