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9, 11, 15 Dresser Avenue

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After 1883
  • 9, 11, 15 Dresser Avenue (John M. Miller)

A little-known row of Queen Anne residences, these three two-and-one-half-story homes were probably built in the mid-1880s for middle-class clients. Numbers 15 and 11 show some similarities in orientation on site, porch work, and the detailing of carved plaques, but the real surprise here is the highly developed decorative scheme of number 9. Its west-facing entry turns away from Dresser and the nearby ocean view. This, along with its present cramped site, suggests it may have been the first of the three built, on a larger lot than now exists. The composition is an exuberant complex of engaged towers, projecting entry bay, stepped rooflines, and ornate decorative skin. The building is encased above a first story of clapboards in carved shingles, large stained glass stairwell windows, and serpentine trim boards, providing one of the most fanciful ornamental ensembles of its day.

Writing Credits

Author: 
William H. Jordy et al.
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Data

What's Nearby

65 Merton Road
Elizabeth Hope Gammell Slater House
John Easton House
Hambly Funeral Home (Grace W. Rives House)
St. Michael's School (Miss Ellen Mason House)

Citation

William H. Jordy et al., "9, 11, 15 Dresser Avenue", [Newport, Rhode Island], SAH Archipedia, eds. Gabrielle Esperdy and Karen Kingsley, Charlottesville: UVaP, 2012—, http://sah-archipedia.org/buildings/RI-01-NE131.

Print Source

Buildings of Rhode Island, William H. Jordy, with Ronald J. Onorato and William McKenzie Woodward. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004, 558-558.

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