• Significance: The Newport Casino was built in 1880 for James Gordon Bennett, publisher of the "New York Herald." Designed by McKim, Mead, and White, it was the fist of the suburban and resort country clubs which were a new feature in the 1880's. This Shingle Style commercial structure is particularly significant as one of the four buildings that comprise a distinguished commercial street, the east side of Bellevue Avenue beginning at Memorial Boulevard and running south. The development of the street began at the north with the building of the Travers Block at the corner in 1870-1871. Designed by Richard Morris Hunt, it is an important example of his early style. The Newport Casino is the next building, and the next one in date. The largest of the four, and historically the best known, it was not only a commercial building but also a social center for the summer colony. The third building in the group is the King Block, designed by the Boston architects Perkins and Betton and built in 1892-1893. The Audrain Building is the southern anchor of the group. The four buildings maintain a long street line and are basically related in scale and massing. They are also related in their use of richly textured surfaces which, at the same time, allows great variety and liveliness. Without matching, the building compliment each other in a particularly urbane way and form an ensemble which should be preserved. The Newport Casino has been placed on the National Register.

The casino was an entertainment center with lawn and court tennis, game rooms, apartments, a restaurant, a theater, and street-level commercial spaces.

• Survey number: HABS RI-331
• Building/structure dates: 1880 Initial Construction