---

Survey of
Historic Sites and Buildings

	REDWOOD LIBRARY AND ATHENAEUM Rhode Island
Location: 50 Bellevue Avenue, Newport. Redwood Library & Athenaeum

Ownership and Administration (1961). Redwood Library and Athenaeum, Newport.

Significance. Redwood Library is important both historically and architecturally. Historically, it is a striking representation of the intellectual development of the American Colonies in the 18th century. Still in use, it is beyond doubt one of the oldest library buildings in continuous use in the United States. Redwood Library was the outgrowth of a philosophical society founded in Newport in 1730, to which Abraham Redwood donated 500 pounds sterling in 1747 for the purchase of books. In all, Redwood's donation bought more than 1,200 volumes, which were purchased in London. To Redwood's gift, other Newport citizens added 5,000 pounds for construction of a library building on land donated by Henry Collins. The building was completed about 1750. The architect was the well-known Peter Harrison, of Newport, and his design for the original part of the building introduced the Palladian style to America.

The Redwood Library and Athenaeum, Newport, R. I., is one of the Nation's oldest library buildings in continuous use. Designed by Newport's Peter Harrison, it was completed around 1750 to house books purchased through a donation by Abraham Redwood. (Courtesy, John T. Hopf.)

Present Appearance (1961). The original structure was based on English adaptations of the Roman Doric temple, with portico and wings. Unfortunately, the reduced scale of the building greatly impaired the effectiveness of this design. The siding was of wood, rusticated and painted to resemble stone masonry, making the library a very early example of this treatment in Georgian architecture. The central library room housed the stacks of books, and small offices were housed in the wings. The library has been enlarged three times, most recently in 1913. The original part of the building was restored by Norman M. Isham in 1915 to Peter Harrison's design. [64]