Alexander Van Rensselaer House facts for kids
Quick facts for kids |
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Alexander Van Rensselaer House
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 Location in Rhode Island
Location in the United States
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| Location | 1 Ichabod Ln., Middletown, Rhode Island |
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| Area | less than one acre |
| Built | 1857 |
| Architect | Upjohn, Richard |
| Architectural style | Italianate |
| NRHP reference No. | 100002524 |
| Added to NRHP | June 4, 2018 |
The Alexander Van Rensselaer House is a really old and special house in Middletown, Rhode Island. It's also known by its other names, Restmere and Villalou. This historic home was built in 1857. It's a great example of a building style called Italianate architecture. A famous architect named Richard Upjohn designed it. What makes it extra cool is that it shows some of the very first examples of "Stick style" decorations in the United States. Because it's so important, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.
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What Does the Alexander Van Rensselaer House Look Like?
The Alexander Van Rensselaer House is located in the southwestern part of Middletown, close to the Newport border. It sits on a piece of land that was once part of a much larger estate. The old driveways of this estate are now streets called Ichabod Lane and Restmere Terrace.
Key Features of the House
This house is a three-story building made of wood. It has a special roof shape called a hip roof. The outside is covered with wooden clapboards, which are long, thin boards.
- Roof Design: The edge of the roof sticks out quite a bit. It has decorative blocks called modillion blocks. Below these blocks, there's a wide band with cool "Stick style" decorations, small windows, and hanging ornaments.
- Front Porch: A porch runs across the front of the house. It has rounded columns that support rounded arches. A low railing, or balustrade, also has rounded arches, matching the porch. The stairs leading up to the porch also flare out at the bottom.
Who Lived in the Alexander Van Rensselaer House?
The house was built in 1857 for a man named Alexander Van Rensselaer. He was a businessman from New York City. His wife was from the Howland family, who used to spend their summers in Newport since the 1830s.
The Architect and Neighboring Homes
Richard Upjohn, the same architect who designed this house, also designed the Hamilton Hoppin House nearby. That house was built for Alexander Van Rensselaer's brother-in-law. Both houses were built on similar-sized plots of land. The areas around them were designed together with winding paths.
The house was finished in 1857. This was two years after Alexander Van Rensselaer's wife passed away. His family owned the property until 1904. The next owner was Adolph Louis Audrain. He made some big changes to the house and named the estate "Restmere."
See Also
