Belcourt of Newport

Belcourt
Ledge Road (west) façade
Map
Former namesBelcourt Castle
General information
TypeResidence
Architectural styleChâteauesque
LocationNewport, Rhode Island, US
Address657 Bellevue Avenue
Coordinates41°27′27″N 71°18′23″W / 41.45750°N 71.30627°W / 41.45750; -71.30627
Construction started1891
Completed1894
InauguratedTuesday, September 2, 1895[1]
Renovated1896–1907, 1910–1914
Cost$3.2 million ($80 million in 2011)
Client
OwnerCarolyn Rafaelian
Technical details
Structural system
  • Load-bearing masonry walls,
  • steel I-beams and heavy timbers
Floor count3
Floor area50,000 ft2 (4,600 m2)
Design and construction
Architect(s)Richard Morris Hunt
Main contractorGeorge A. Fuller Construction Company
Renovating team
Architect(s)John Russell Pope, Horace Trumbauer

Belcourt is a former summer cottage designed by architect Richard Morris Hunt for Oliver Hazard Perry Belmont and located on Bellevue Avenue in Newport, Rhode Island. Construction was begun in 1891 and completed in 1894, and it was intended to be used for only six to eight weeks of the year. Belcourt was designed in a multitude of European styles and periods; it features a heavy emphasis on French Renaissance and Gothic decor, with further borrowings from German, English, and Italian design. In the Gilded Age, the castle was noted for its extensive stables and carriage areas, which were incorporated into the main structure.

  1. ^ "Grand Ball at Newport (NYT archives)" (PDF). The New York Times. 1895-09-03. Retrieved 2009-09-08.