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Survey of
Historic Sites and Buildings

	OLD STATE HOUSE (Old Colony House) Rhode Island
Location: Washington Square, Newport. Newport Historical Society

Ownership and Administration (1961). State of Rhode Island, administered by the Old State House in Newport, Rhode Island, Inc.

Significance. The Old State House is an outstanding public building of colonial America, possessing both historical and architectural distinction. Designed by Richard Munday, the building was erected in 1739-41 to house the General Assembly of the Colony of Rhode Island, and it served also as a center for public meetings and religious and social functions. The death of George II, the succession of George III, and the colony's acceptance of the Declaration of Independence were among the momentous events proclaimed from the second-floor balcony. During the Revolution the State House served as a hospital for British and later French forces quartered in Newport. When George Washington came to Newport to visit the newly arrived French Army, a banquet was held in the great hall on the first floor. The May sessions of the Rhode Island Legislature were held in the Old State House from 1790 until the dedication of the new State House in Providence in 1900.

The Old State House, erected in Newport in 1739-41, originally housed the General Assembly of Rhode Island Colony. (Courtesy, John T. Hopf.)

Present Appearance (1961). The State House is 2-1/2 stories high, built of red brick resting on a granite masonry basement. The gabled roof, cut off to form a flat deck at its peak, is surmounted by a two-story octagonal cupola. The dominant feature of the main facade is the center doorway with balcony. The interior consists of a large room (40 by 80 feet) on the first floor with a row of square Doric columns running down the middle, and three rooms on the second floor. The State House was partially restored in 1917 under the direction of Norman M. Isham and is today a public monument. [63]