This is a guest blog post by Trinity Kendrick, MSc in Preservation Practices, Roger Williams University. Trinity is a 2024 Buchanan Burnham Fellow.
Projectionist at Paramount Theater, Newport, RI, year unknown. Courtesy Salve Regina University, Newport, RI, USA.
Newport is no stranger to the silver screen. Since the advent of film in the late 19th century, the city has been home to many movie palaces, including the Paramount, the Opera House, and the Strand (later renamed the Jane Pickens Theater). The Paramount opened on August 10, 1929, and closed its doors in 1961.1 It was gutted in 1972 to house a multi-level retail space2 and was later renovated into apartments. The Opera House, which operated as a theater from the 1920s until 2010, now houses the Newport Performing Arts Center.3 The Jane Pickens Theater, which has operated since 1923,4 is Newport’s only remaining cinema.
The theater building boom (which preceded the 1929 stock market crash only by a few years) was largely spurred on by postwar prosperity, the advent of major motion picture studios like Paramount, MGM and RKO, and the large–scale “Sound Revolution” in the 1920s that shifted the demand away from silent films to “talkies.” Film studios bought up theater chains to ensure their productions would be screened (hence the Paramount in Newport), and Wall Street firms began to see the film industry as a profitable investment.5 As evidenced by the phrase “movie palace,” movie-going in this era was much more of an experience than it typically is today, as companies wanted to attract patrons not only by the films themselves but also by the opulent settings. The exteriors shone with brightly lit marquees, and the interiors often had gilt finishes, mirrors, wall-to-wall carpeting (luxurious at the time), crystal chandeliers, statues in the foyer and live orchestral accompaniments alongside the films. However, Newport’s film history extends past its movie palaces. Owing to its picturesque scenery, historical significance and well-preserved buildings, Newport has also been both the subject, of and filming location for, many movies, some of which will be highlighted here.
Jane Pickens
Blue movie ticket from the Jane Pickens Theatre, Washington Square, Newport. The ticket has been torn in half. 2000.42.3, Collection of the Newport Historical Society.
The Jane Pickens Theater, re-named in 1974 for the entertainer and philanthropist, has stood the test of time as Newport’s sole remaining movie theater, even with only a single screen. Pickens was born in Georgia and her career began as the leader of the Pickens Sisters musical trio. She had a successful and varied career as a solo singer, was a well-known socialite in Newport circles, and had a brief political career when she ran as the Republican-Conservative challenger to Rep. Edward I. Koch in 1972. Pickens split her time between New York City and Newport and died at her home in Newport in 1992 at age 83.6 The theater was originally built in 1834 as the Zion Episcopal Church and was designed by local architect Russell Warren in the Greek Revival style. It remained a house of worship throughout the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th: in 1885 it became St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. In 1918 it had a brief stint as a live theater until it became The Strand movie palace in 1922.7 It also features briefly in Woody Allen’s 2015 comedy-drama-mystery Irrational Man, starring Emma Stone and Joaquin Phoenix, which is set in Newport.
Left: Emma Stone and Joaquin Pheonix exit the Jane Pickens theater and stroll around Washington Square in a scene from Irrational Man (2015). Right:
The author visits Washington Square to reenact the scene from Irrational Man nearly 10 years later, June 2024.
Colony House
Courthouse scene in Amistad (1997), filmed inside Newport’s Colony House, IMDb.
The Colony House was completed in 1741 and served as the principal seat of the Rhode Island colonial government before the American Revolution. It was designed by master carpenter Richard Munday, also known for nearby Seventh Day Baptist Meeting House (1729) and Trinity Church (1725-26). During the war it was transformed into barracks and a hospital out of necessity. After 1780 it served as one of Rhode Island’s statehouses, until 1902 when the current statehouse opened in Providence.8 Its stately English Georgian facade, which emulates the style of English architect Sir Christopher Wren, and location at the top of Washington Square has made it a popular backdrop for films like Hocus Pocus 2 (2022) and Mr. North (1988). It also features prominently in Steven Spielberg’s 1997 historical drama Amistad. While the real events depicted in Amistad took place in New Haven, most of the courthouse scenes in the movie were filmed in and in front of the Colony House.
Newport’s Washington Square transformed into the 27th annual Salem Scare Fest for the filming of Hocus Pocus 2 (2022), with the Colony House visible in the background.
Image of the Colony House during the filming of the movie Mr. North (1988). P6037, Collection of Newport Historical Society.
Exterior of Trinity Church in Moonrise Kingdom (2014), including reproduction steeple felled by a storm in the film.
Trinity Church and Queen Anne Square
Wes Anderson used many locations in Newport and throughout Rhode Island for his whimsical, nostalgic coming-of-age film Moonrise Kingdom (2014) including Trinity Church and Castle Hill Lighthouse (which will be discussed later). Trinity Church, erected from 1725-26 by Richard Munday, is a minimally altered intact example of a colonial-era Georgian church.9 In the movie, the interior of the church (named “St. Jacks”) is used for an ominously foreshadowing production of “Noye’s Fludde.”
Interior of Trinity Church in Moonrise Kingdom (2014).
During the production of Amistad, crews also constructed a prison on the grounds of Queen Anne Square, just west of Trinity Church. In the film, this prison holds the enslaved Africans from the ship La Amistad during the legal battle that the film portrays.
Panoramic photo of the construction of a slave prison set for the movie Amistad at Queen Anne Square in 1997. P9447, Collection of Newport Historical Society.
Ocean Drive
Unsurprisingly, Newport’s elaborate and exclusive Gilded Age mansions have served as settings and filming locations for films going back as far as the 1950s. Whether the film takes place in Newport or elsewhere, Ocean Drive and Bellevue Avenue have been used for establishing shots to signify the wealth of characters in the film, such as in High Society (1956), The Great Gatsby (1974), and The Bostonians (1984). While most scenes in High Society were filmed on an MGM set, the establishing shots of the mansions, driving scenes down Bellevue Avenue, and much of the dialogue firmly situates the story in Newport. The opening scene features an aerial shot of some of the mansions, including Rough Point. Rough Point, famously occupied by tobacco heiress Doris Duke, was originally designed by the firm Peabody & Stearns for Frederick William Vanderbilt. It was built between 1887 and 1892, with a strategically rugged and picturesque landscape designed by Frederick Law Olmsted.10 Over this shot of Bellevue, Louis Armstrong sings:
Just dig that scenery floating by,
We’re now approaching Newport, Rhode I.
We’ve been, for years, In Variety,
But, Cholly Knickerbocker, now we’re going to beIn High, High So-
High So-ci-,
High So-ci-ety.
During the filming of High Society, it is said that Grace Kelly stayed at Castle Hill Inn, originally built in 1875 as the home of oceanographer and marine biologist Alexander Agassiz before it became a luxury hotel.11 Local lore says Kelly found privacy on a nearby secluded beach. Because the climb was so difficult, the Inn even built a staircase so that she could have easier access, and because of this story the beach bears her name today.12
Image of Lawrence Olivier in “The Betsy,” July 1977. The film was shot at Rosecliff. P6020, Collection of Newport Historical Society.
Gilded Age Mansions
Perhaps the most popular filming location on this list, Rosecliff Mansion has been featured in The Great Gatsby (1974), The Betsy (1978), Heaven’s Gate (1980), True Lies (1994), Amistad (1997) and 27 Dresses (2008). The mansion (built from 1899-1902) – designed by Stanford White, commissioned by silver heiress Theresa Fair Oelrich and modeled after the Grand Trianon retreat of Versailles (built 1687-88)13 – has a film-worthy history all its own. Many of the most lavish parties in Newport, including a fairytale dinner, a party with entertainment by Harry Houdini, and Mardi Gras-themed costumed dances, were hosted here. In the case of Jack Clayton’s The Great Gatsby, starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow, Rosecliff serves as the perfect backdrop for Jay Gatsby’s extravagant parties.
Party scene from The Great Gatsby (1974), filmed in Rosecliff’s ballroom.
Actress Mia Farrow walking towards Rosecliff in The Great Gatsby (1974).
Image of Christopher Reeve in the film ‘The Bostonians’, at Chateau-sur-Mer in Newport. August 1983. P6029, Collection of Newport Historical Society.
Other Newport mansions have also served as opulent backdrops for a variety of films. 27 Dresses, Amistad and The Great Gatsby also shot scenes at Marble House, designed by Richard Morris Hunt and completed in 1892.14 True Lies utilized the exterior of Ochre Court, an 1892 châteauesque mansion (also designed by Hunt), which is now the main administrative building for Salve Regina University.15 During the opening of the film, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s character Harry Tasker infiltrates an exclusive party at a chateau in Switzerland, and Ochre Court provides the facade while Rosecliff is the set for the interior scenes. The period drama The Bostonians (1984) starring Vanessa Redgrave and Christopher Reeve filmed scenes in the 1851 High Victorian mansion Chateau-sur-Mer, designed by Hunt, Seth C. Bradford and Ogden Codman Jr.16
While they are not technically movies, I would be remiss if I did not mention some of the most well-known television shows that were filmed at the mansions. Seaview Terrace (also known as Carey Mansion) was built from 1927-192917: the gothic series Dark Shadows, which aired from 1966 to 1971, used the building as its fictional Collinwood Mansion. More recently the series The Gilded Age, which began airing in 2022, has been filmed at various Newport historic houses, including The Breakers (built 1893-1895), Marble House (built 1888-1892), The Elms (built 1901), Rosecliff (built 1902), Chateau-sur-Mer (built 1851-1852), Hunter House (built 1748-1754) and Kingscote (built 1839).18
Castle Hill Lighthouse
Castle Hill Lighthouse, built 1890, is a unique example of a lighthouse constructed in the Richardsonian Romanesque style (possibly even designed by architect H.H. Richardson himself).19 With its heavily rusticated rough-faced granite block tower, the lighthouse differs from the typical taller, smooth-faced, red-and-white striped lighthouse that most people picture (one of which, Point Judith Lighthouse in Narragansett, is also featured in the film).
While film is a relatively new art form with a much shorter history in comparison to others, understanding its trends can help reflect the hopes and anxieties of a culture at a particular time. Many of the earlier films in this list represent only one version of Newport; the stories of the opulence and glamour of its wealthiest citizens. As time has gone on, more diverse stories have begun to be told here, and it is exciting to imagine how Newport will be represented onscreen in years to come.
Left: The Castle Hill Lighthouse in Moonrise Kingdom (2014). Right: The author visited the Castle Hill Lighthouse featured in Moonrise Kingdom (2014).
[1] Newport Daily News, Newport, Rhode Island, November 24, 1972.
[2] Newport Daily News, Newport, Rhode Island, August 11, 1972.
[3] Keen, Lew. n.d. “History of the Opera House Theater.” Newport, Rhode Island: Opera House Newport.
[4] “The JPT Film + Event Center | about the JPT.” n.d. The JPT Film + Event Center. Accessed June 14, 2024. https://janepickens.com/about
[5] Film History: An Introduction. 2019 Fourth ed. New York, NY: McGraw Hill Education.
[6] The New York Times, New York City, New York, February 23, 1992.
[7] “The JPT Film + Event Center | about the JPT.” n.d. The JPT Film + Event Center. Accessed June 14, 2024. https://janepickens.com/about
[8] Edwin W. Small, “Old Colony House,” National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1972), Section 8.
[9] Patricia Heintzelman, “Trinity Church,” National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1975), Section 8.
[10] Carolyn Pitts, “Bellevue Avenue Historic District,” National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1976), Section 8.
[11] Wagner, Emily. 2021. “The Land That Is Ours.” Castle Hill Inn. August 27, 2021. https://www.castlehillinn.com/the-land-that-is-ours/.
[12] Lo, Danica. 2015. “This Is the Beach Where Grace Kelly Spent the Summer of 1956.” Glamour. May 19, 2015. https://www.glamour.com/story/grace-kelly-beach.
[13] Richard B. Harrington, “Rosecliff,” National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1972), Section 8.
[14] Richard B. Harrington, “Marble House,” National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1971), Section 8.
[15] Carolyn Pitts, “Bellevue Avenue Historic District,” National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1976), Section 8.
[16] John R. Tschirch, “Chateau-sur-Mer,” National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 2005), Section 8.
[17] Carolyn Pitts, “Bellevue Avenue Historic District,” National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1976), Section 8.
[18] The Preservation Society of Newport County. n.d. “Deep Dive into HBO’s ‘the Gilded Age.’” Newport Mansions. Accessed June 14, 2024. https://www.newportmansions.org/gilded-age/episode-deep-dive/.
[19] “Bellevue Avenue Historic District,” National Register of Historic Places Nomination Form (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service, 1988), Section 8.