Naval War College 8-24

20 Places to Visit and Color

Presented By Naval War College Foundation

Color Our Town Coloring Books

Welcome to the Naval War College

Established in 1884 in Newport, Rhode Island, the U.S. Naval War College (USNWC) is the oldest defense college of its kind in the world. As the U.S. Navy’s “Home of Thought,” the College offers a course of advanced professional study for naval and joint service officers and civilian agency leaders as well as international military officers from allied and partner nations. Students earn Joint Professional Military Education (JPME) credit and either a diploma or a master’s degree in National Security and Strategic Studies. About 300 of today’s active-duty admirals, generals, and senior executive service leaders are USNWC alumni. The College currently employs over 600 dedicated staff and faculty. For more information, please visit usnwc.edu

1. U.S. Naval War College

The Naval War College is a distinguished center of military education, strategic thought, and maritime heritage. Nestled along the scenic Narragansett Bay, the College has been shaping the minds of naval leaders from around the world since 1884. Here, you'll find a proud tradition of academic excellence, a collaborative spirit, and a deep commitment to advancing global security and maritime strategy. Whether you're here to study, teach, or visit, you are part of a legacy dedicated to thoughtful leadership and informed decision-making at the highest levels.

2. Welcome to Newport

Newport, Rhode Island, is a picturesque coastal city known for its stunning waterfront views, historic charm, and vibrant cultural scene. Often referred to as the "Sailing Capital of the World," Newport boasts a rich maritime heritage, with sailing and yachting deeply woven into the fabric of the community. The city is famous for its well-preserved Gilded Age mansions, like The Breakers and Marble House, which offer a glimpse into the opulent lifestyles of America's wealthiest families in the late 19th century. Newport's downtown area is a lively hub of activity, featuring a mix of boutique shops, art galleries, and exquisite restaurants, all set against the backdrop of its iconic harbor. Whether you're exploring its scenic Cliff Walk, attending one of its renowned music festivals, or simply soaking in the coastal beauty, Newport offers a unique blend of history, culture, and natural splendor.

3. The Breakers

The Breakers is the grandest of Newport’s summer “cottages” and a symbol of the Vanderbilt family’s social and financial preeminence in turn-of-the-century America. Bought by Cornelius Vanderbilt II commissioned Richard Morris Hunt in 1893 to design an Italian Renaissance-style villa to replace the earlier wood-framed house. Inheriting the house in 1934, Countess Széchenyi, née Gladys Vanderbilt, opened The Breakers in 1948 to raise funds for the Preservation Society of Newport County. In 1972, the Preservation Society bought the house from her heirs. Today, the house is designated a National Historic Landmark.

4. Rose Island Lighthouse

Built in Fort Hamilton in 1870, Rose Island Lighthouse shone its fixed red light over lower Narragansett Bay for a full century. However in 1970, the Lighthouse was taken out of service due to the newly completed Newport Pell Bridge having all the necessary aids to navigation situated upon the structure. Thankfully, the lighthouse was saved from demolition in 1984 due to the efforts of Charlotte Johnson and Curt Bunting’s Rose Island Lighthouse Foundation. The RILF then began restoring the lighthouse as a museum the following year, which was completed in 1993. The restoration efforts were facilitated by Wanton Chase, who helped the RILF understand how the lighthouse operated when he lived there between 1913 and 1918. The lighthouse museum is today configured to look as it did when Wanton lived there, right down to the kitchen stove. Today, Rose Island Lighthouse is open to the public during the spring and summer as a witness to maritime life and history of the late 19th and early 20th century. Today the building is on the National Register of Historic Places and is preserved in all its glory, forever.

5. Rosecliff

Commissioned by Theresa and Hermann Oelrichs and commissioned by Theresa in 1899, Stanford White modeled Rosecliff after the Grand Trianon at Versailles. After the house was completed in 1902, Theresa hosted fabulous entertainments there, including a fairy tale dinner and a party featuring famed magician Harry Houdini. Rosecliff is now preserved through the generosity of its last private owners, Mr. and Mrs. J. Edgar Monroe. They gave the house, its furnishings, and an endowment to the Preservation Society of Newport County in 1971. Scenes from several films have been shot on location at Rosecliff, including The Great Gatsby, True Lies, Amistad, and 27 Dresses.

6. Colony House

Designed in an English Georgian style by Richard Munday and built by Benjamin Wyatt between 1736 and 1739, the Newport Colony House is the fourth oldest statehouse still standing in the United States. The Colony House’s floor plan follows the customary layout of English town or guild halls, which often had an open marketplace on the ground floor and civic offices on the second floor. Many important events associated with the United States’ formation occurred at the Colony House, like Major John Handy reading of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, as well as Rhode Island’s first public Roman Catholic mass. The Colony House served as Rhode Island’s primary state house from its completion in 1739 until 1901, when the new state house in Providence opened. From 1901 to 1926 it was the Newport County Courthouse. Between 1926 and 1932, the building was restored by Norman Isham. The Colony House contains a portrait of George Washington, painted by Gilbert Stuart. Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1962, the Colony House is owned by Rhode Island and managed by the Newport Historical Society.

7. International Tennis Hall of Fame

Following a visit to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in the early 1950s, Jimmy Van Alen, then-President of the Newport Casino, and his wife Candy, decided that tennis also needed a place to honor its great figures. The Newport Casino was in danger of demolition, and with its rich tennis history, it was the perfect spot to establish a hall of fame. Jimmy Van Alen successfully lobbied the leadership of the United States Lawn Tennis Association to sanction the establishment of a National Tennis Hall of Fame in Newport. The venerable Newport Casino became the National Lawn Tennis Hall of Fame and Museum and was officially recognized by the International Tennis Federation in 1986.

8. Bowen's Wharf

At Bowen’s Wharf, brick walks, granite quays, and 18th century commercial wharf buildings bring you back to Newport’s beginnings as a thriving seaport in one of New England’s finest natural harbors. Located on the waterfront at the foot of Newport’s Historic Hill, Bowen’s Wharf has contributed to the city’s business and life since it was known as Arnold’s Wharf in the 17th century and Stevens’ Wharf in the 18th century. The cobblestone street, granite quay, rare 18th Century wharf buildings, and brick 19th Century buildings make this site unique both in New England and in America. Newport’s waterfront improvements to Bowen’s Wharf help to make it the perfect rendezvous point for your waterfront activities. However, Bowen’s Wharf is best known for its massive anchor. Hauled up by a lobster boat many miles offshore and placed onto the wharf by Bart Dunbar in the 1970’s, the wrought iron anchor serves as Bowen’s Wharf’s own landmark.

9. Cliff Walk

The Cliff Walk along Newport’s eastern shore is world famous as a public access walk that combines Newport shoreline’s natural beauty with Newport’s gilded age architectural history. What makes Cliff Walk unique is that it is a National Recreation Trail in a National Historic District. Designated as New England’s first National Recreation Trail in 1975, the walk runs 3.5 miles. One of Newport’s top attractions, a quarter million trips are made each year on the walk. The walk starts at the western end of First Beach at Memorial Boulevard, and runs south with exits at Narragansett Avenue, Webster Street, Sheppard Avenue, Ruggles Avenue, Marine Avenue, Ledge Road, and ends at Bellevue Avenue at the east end of Reject’s Beach. At Marine Avenue, Belmont Beach is often used by surfers to launch their boards when surfing off the Breakers on occasions when hurricanes are passing offshore. Five rights-ofway to Cliff Walk are marked with brass plaques at Webster Street, Narragansett Avenue, Ledge Road, Ruggles Avenue, and Seaview Avenue.

10. Marble House

Built between 1888 and 1892 for William and Alva Vanderbilt, Marble House was a social and architectural landmark that set the pace for Newport’s subsequent transformation from a quiet summer colony of wooden houses to the legendary resort of opulent stone palaces. A leading hostess in Newport society, Alva Vanderbilt envisioned Marble House as her “temple to the arts” in America. The house was designed by Richard Morris Hunt, inspired by the Petit Trianon at Versailles. The house cost $11 million, of which $7 million was spent on 500,000 cubic feet of marble. Upon its completion, William Vanderbilt gave the house to his wife as a birthday present. After William’s death, she had a Chinese Tea House built on the seaside cliffs, where she hosted rallies for women’s right to vote. She sold the house to Frederick Prince in 1932. The Preservation Society acquired the house in 1963 from the Prince estate. In 2006, Marble House was designated a National Historic Landmark.

11. Chinese Tea House

Who would imagine there’s an authentic Chinese Tea House hugging the Cliff Walk in Newport? Behind Marble House lies this little treasure with incredible views of the Atlantic. Added onto the grounds of Marble House in 1908 by women’s rights advocate Alva Belmont, the Chinese Tea House is modeled after 12th century Song Dynasty temples. At the Tea House, Alva held her rallies and meetings for women’s right to vote. The Tea House itself features an incredible amount of detail, including dragon sculptures, an Imperial Chinese lion, gracefully curved roofs, and delicate carvings. If you want to get a glimpse of the Tea House without going to Marble House, hike the Cliff Walk. The Newport Mansions are always a perfect place to take visiting family and friends, and at Marble House you get the added bonus of the Chinese Tea House. Maintained by the Preservation Society of Newport County, the Tea House has recently undergone major renovation to ensure it is around for the public to enjoy for years to come.

12. Audrain Automobile Museum

Founded in 2014 to preserve, celebrate, and share automotive history, the Audrain Automobile Museum connects and engages with Newporters through its exhibits, programs, and car events. Housed inside the historic Audrain Building on Bellevue Avenue, the museum has access to over 350 cars and motorcycles and displays four exhibits each year. The Audrain Automobile Museum acquires and preserves automobiles with historical significance to

Newport. Lacking a suitable space, the Museum’s founders sought to find a proper home for some of Newport’s most historically important automobiles. Defunct and outdated, the Audrain Building presented a perfect solution: a home for the museum and an opportunity to restore and preserve a key piece of architectural history. As the Audrain Automobile Museum continues to grow, so does its status as a must-stop destination for car enthusiasts and Newport visitors alike.

13. White Horse Tavern

No building is believed to be more typical of colonial Newport than White Horse Tavern, with its clapboard walls, gambrel roof, and plain pediment doors bordering the sidewalk. Inside, its giant beams, small stairway against the chimney, front hall, and huge fireplaces are the essence of 17th century American architecture. The United States’ oldest operating restaurant, White Horse Tavern has served guests since William Mayes, Sr. converted the building into a tavern in 1673. For almost 100 years, the tavern was the meeting place of the Colony’s General Assembly, Criminal Court and City Council. After William Mayes passed down the role of innkeeper to his relatives Mary and Robert Nichols in the early 1700’s, the Tavern was owned by the Nichols family for the next 200 years. Acquired and restored by the Preservation Society of Newport County in 1954, the Tavern was recognized as a National Historic Landmark and placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. America’s Cup sponsor O.L. Pitts bought the Tavern in 1981, in the process continuing the tradition of good fellowship, food, and cheer.

14. The Elms

The Elms was the summer residence of Mr. and Mrs. Edward Julius Berwind. In 1898, the Berwinds engaged Horace Trumbauer to design a house modeled after the mid-18th century French Chateau d’Asnieres outside Paris. Construction of The Elms was completed in 1901 at a cost of around $1.4 million. The interiors and furnishings were designed by Allard and Sons of Paris and were the setting for the Berwinds’ collection of Renaissance ceramics, 18th century French and Venetian paintings, and Oriental jades. Developed between 1907 and 1914, the Classical Revival gardens on the grounds include terraces and a lower garden featuring marble pavilions, statues and fountains. Mrs. Berwind died in 1922, and Mr. Berwind invited his sister Julia to become his hostess at his New York and Newport houses. Mr. Berwind died in 1936 and Julia continued to vacation at The Elms until her death in 1961. The Preservation Society of Newport County bought The Elms in 1962 and opened the house to the public. In 1996, The Elms was designated a National Historic Landmark.

15. Touro Synagogue

Newport received its first Jewish residents in the mid-17th century. In Newport they formed Congregation Nephuse Israel (Scattered of Israel), the United States’ second oldest Jewish congregation. By 1758, the Jewish population had grown sufficiently that there was a need for a house of worship. Designed by Peter Harrison in 1759, the Palladian-styled synagogue was completed in 1763. In 1790, Moses Seixas’ letter on the issues of religious liberties and the separation of church and state, as well as President George Washington’s response to it, came down as a key policy statement of the government in support of First Amendment rights. Abraham and Judah Touro’s financial and structural contributions to the building gave the synagogue its current name as well as a granite and wrought iron enclosure. Each year, Touro Synagogue holds a public reading of the George Washington letter as a celebration and pronouncement of religious freedom. Designated a National Historic Site in 1946, Touro Synagogue remains an active house of worship and is also toured by thousands of visitors every year.

16. Trinity Church

Designed by Richard Munday and completed in 1726, Trinity Church is a truly wonderful place, soaked with nearly 300 years of prayers. As you enter Trinity, you’ll notice a jovial atmosphere around a chalice-shaped three-tiered pulpit in the center of the lower level–the only center-aisle, freestanding, triple-decked pulpit left in America today. On the main aisle’s south side is a box pew ornamented with silver plaques commemorating visitors of special significance who were seated there, such as George Washington, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Andrew, and Archbishop Desmond Tutu.. Today, visitors to Trinity are welcomed by the “Sitting Saints,” who delight in pointing out the church’s details and priceless heritage. Now in their fourth century of existence, Trinity continues to be a worshiping community. Their mission statement makes clear that they are a community of Episcopalians gathered by Christ, serving and supporting one another and those in need. Their church is a beacon calling all for worship, fellowship, and growth in the grace and knowledge of the Lord.

17. Seaview Terrace

Along Newport’s Cliff Walk, Seaview Terrace stands as the Gilded Age’s largest privately owned ‘Summer Cottage’. Mainly built in Washington, DC by Edson Bradley in 1907, the house was dismantled and shipped to Newport from 1923 to 1925. Designed by Howard Greenly, Seaview Terrace became incorporated into James Kernochan’s pre-existing Elizabethan-Revival mansion, which is still visible, encased in the house’s East Wing. Completed in 1925, Seaview Terrace is best known for lending its iconic turreted profile for the TV show Dark Shadows. With a passion and appreciation for the arts, architecture and history, Martin and Millicent Carey bought the mansion in 1974 and soon began renovations to the estate’s exterior and interior. This included commissioning Donald and Harle Tinney to restore the windows in the Solarium, Chapel and Great Hall. The Carey family now continues their vision of restoring this architectural gem to the grandeur it deserves.

18. Fort Adams

Overseen by Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Totten and Brigadier General Simon Bernard, construction for the current Fort Adams began in 1824. A massive work with structural walls built of local shale and Maine granite, Fort Adams include underground listening galleries and earth-filled, masonry cribs designed to protect the outer face of the fort’s crown work from battering by a besieger’s artillery. Though it was completed in 1857, troops were already garrisoned in the fort starting in 1841. Serving until 1950, the fort was in service for the Mexican-American, Civil, Spanish-American, and both World Wars, yet it never fired a shot in retaliation. Declared a National Historical Landmark in 1976, Fort Adams is now part of a state park that includes athletic and sailing facilities and is a favorite place for picnics. The fort itself has been the backdrop for musical events like the Newport Jazz and Folk Festivals. Fort Adams stands as a silent reminder of the great system of forts that once defended the fleet that, perhaps fittingly, is now also gone from the waters of Narragansett Bay.

19. Museum of Newport History

Located in the 1762 Brick Market designed by Peter Harrison, the award-winning Museum of Newport History is the perfect place to begin a visit to Newport. The Museum provides the whole family with an engaging introduction to the area’s rich history and the beauty of its architecture. Glimpse the lives of the people–past and present–who have made Newport one of America’s most historic cities. Exhibits feature James Franklin’s printing press, the figurehead from the yacht Aloha, photographs, furniture, colonial silver, paintings, objects of daily life, and more, all from the collections of the Newport Historical Society.

20. Redwood Library and Athenaeum

Established in 1747 by Abraham Redwood and designed by Peter Harrison in 1748, the Redwood Library and Athenaeum was the colonies’ first Neo-Classical public building.

Designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966, the Library continues to serve its members and the public with its outstanding collection of paintings, sculpture, furniture, and books. Of the libraries founded in the American Colonies, Redwood Library is the oldest one still housed and operating in its original building. Peter Harrison’s Doric design was the first such use in the New World. The building is crafted of wood “rusticated” to look like stone. The façade’s two wings provided for office space and allowed for four windows on the front as well as three attic windows. This was the view of Redwood noticed by Thomas Jefferson when he visited Newport in 1790. Jefferson began championing classical architecture as the model for public buildings in the Republic. Thus, Redwood Library is arguably one of the most architecturally influential buildings in America.

Copyright © 2025, Jake Rose

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be used or reproduced in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, email publisher at jake@colorourtown.com.

Printed in USA

Book design by Jake Rose.

Cover designed by Jake Rose, Ivan Myerchuk, and Brenda Zabala.

Back cover art by Ivan Myerchuk and Brenda Zabala

Line illustrations by Ivan Myerchuk

Jake Rose - Author

Color Our Town coloring books illustrate the beauty and diversity of America’s cities.

Jake honors Newport's unique historical institutions in his signature style.

Collaborating with artists around the world, beautiful line drawings are created, each accompanied by a rich detailed history.

Jake was proud to create this coloring guidebook for the Naval War College Foundation. Visit Jake at ColorOurTown.com and on Instagram and Facebook @colorourtown.

opposite page:

Painting of the USS Ohio

This painting resides in Mahan Hall at the U.S. Naval War College. Ohio was launched in 1820. It suppressed the slave trade off the West African coast, participated in a siege of Veracruz during the war with Mexico in 1846, shuttled diplomats to Brazil, and policed the California coast during the gold rush. During this time, Ohio was under the command of Commodore Isaac Hull.

Color Newport is filled to the brim with the city's most iconic settings, like The Breakers, Cliff Walk, Bowen's Wharf, and Rose Island Lighthouse, among many others.

Through its 20 beautiful illustrations and detailed descriptions, “Color Newport” masterfully highlights what makes the City by the Sea so special to its residents and visitors.