Today, George Berkeley’s Whitehall, located in Middletown, RI, is a house museum operated by The National Society of Colonial Dames in The State of Rhode Island (NSCDSRI). The historic site has rich historical and aesthetic associations through the ages. On Thursday September 15, 2022 at 6:30pm, the Newport Historical Society, in partnership with the NSCDSRI will host the virtual talk Whitehall as Architectural and Cultural Icon presented by John Tschirch.
This illustrated lecture will explore the architectural, artistic and cultural significance of this 18th century house, from its fine Georgian door to its shingled facades. Whitehall is a treasure house of colonial construction and colonial revival fascination, interpreted by architect Charles Follen McKim, the painter Worthington Whitredge and other leading artists and writers as a source of design inspiration and a cultural touchstone.
As an architectural historian with a thirty-year career in historic preservation in Newport, John Tschirch is also a teacher, photographer and author of both scholarly works and historical fiction. His recent book Newport: The Artful City was published by D. Giles Ltd. of London in association with the Newport Historical Society in 2020. It’s available at ShopNewportHistory.com. To learn more about John’s work, please visit www.johnstories.com.
Attendance for this talk is free, but registration is required. To sign-up, please email info@whitehallmuseumhouse.org to receive the virtual attendance link.