Listed earlier this month for $4.5 million, the home is an eight-bedroom Gilded Age gem. It is centrally located in Newport's prestigious Top-of-the-Hill neighbourhood, just a few minutes' walk to the city centre.
Built in 1873 in the Swiss chalet style with gingerbread trim, the house was designed by renowned Newport architect George Chaplin Mason Sr. and served as his family's primary residence for many years.
Notable later owners included John Nicholas Brown (founder of the Brown family empire and Brown University) and Viscount and Viscountess Osmore.
Interestingly, the Browns were also the original owners of the nearby Harbor Court (known today as the New York Yacht Club in Newport), whose design was inspired by Viscount Osmore's ancestral home.
As only 26 of the Mason's houses still exist, the house is in a way a rarity. It is all the more precious considering the efforts its current owners have made to modernise and preserve it over the past 16 years.
The historic home boasts the comforts of modern living, including a chef's kitchen, home office, gas fireplace, outdoor living space, efficient heating and cooling systems, and an electric car charger, the listing notes.
The lovely layout offers a spacious family room and a living and dining area with double doors that open onto a balcony. The lower level has more potential for living space.
"All rooms were extensively renovated this past winter," says Karin Jackson, listing agent for Newport Living Group." The electrical, plumbing, heating and cooling systems and fire suppression systems have all been updated, and the kitchen has been remodelled from 2017 to 2019."
But when it comes to original features, take a look at the fireplaces, moldings and doors.
"The staircase alone has four different types of wood, and many of the fireplaces have jade, black marble and Delft kiln-fired tiles," says Jackson.
But the wonders of this Newport mansion don't end at the front door.
The three-acre property includes professionally landscaped gardens and a three-storey medieval watchtower with storage, studio space and an observatory with views of the night sky.
