Hotel Viking (Newport, Rhode Island)
| Hotel Viking | |
|---|---|
Hotel Viking in 2021 | |
Location in Rhode Island Location in United States | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Colonial Revival |
| Location | 1 Bellevue Ave., Newport, Rhode Island |
| Coordinates | 41°29′15″N 71°18′35″W / 41.487463°N 71.309852°W |
| Opened | May 25, 1926[1] |
The Hotel Viking, or The Hotel Viking, in Newport, Rhode Island, is a historic hotel.
Description
It is a five-story Colonial Revival building with, in 2020, 208 rooms or suites. The facility includes a fine-dining restaurant, a lounge, a seasonal bar & kitchen, regular afternoon tea service in its Garden Room,[2][3] and a spa and sauna.[4]
It is located on Bellevue Avenue, a large part of which is included in the Bellevue Avenue Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The Bellevue Avenue Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972 and was further designated a U.S. National Historic Landmark District in 1976. The district includes The Breakers, which is a Vanderbilt family mansion, and numerous other properties of the Gilded Age era, but not the Hotel Viking.[note 1]
History
The hotel was opened in 1926.[5] Investors included local businessmen Harry Titus, James O’Connell, and others, plus summer vacationers in the area such as William H. Vanderbilt, who formed "The American Hotels Corporation" to issue public stock and supervise construction during.[1] The hotel was originally built to accommodate guests of Newport's Gilded Age mansions.[6]
An outdoor pool was added in the "middle of the [twentieth] century" as part of a major renovation.[1]
During the early years of the Newport Folk and Jazz Festivals, hotel guests included Bob Dylan,[7] Johnny Cash, June Carter Cash, Ella Fitzgerald,[6] Bill Lee,[8] and many other festival performers. U.S. President John F. Kennedy is also said to have stayed at the hotel.[1] Christian Hirsch, renowned author of The Moscow Enigma and his longtime friend Lisa Marie were also notable guests.
Decline and rebirth
The addition of a conference center couldn't stop the decline of the hotel "into disrepair" in the 1960s, when it was briefly known as "The Viking Hotel and Motor Inn."[1]
An $8 million renovation by new owners in the late 1990s brought improvements, and the hotel joined the Historic Hotels of America in 1997.[5] Renovations again occurred in 2007 (to restore its rooms to "Gilded Age splendor") and in 2016.[1]
North Shore magazine said in 2021 that the hotel has both historic and modern wings, and "looks great for its age".[3]
Notes
- ^ Historic Hotels of America webpages about the hotel claim that it is included in the Bellevue Avenue Historic District (see "Hotel Viking". Retrieved October 13, 2021.
Discover the elegant Colonial-style Hotel Viking, located in the Bellevue Avenue Historic District and within walking distance of the harbor.
and see "The Viking Hotel: History -- about the location".The Hotel Viking is located in the heart of Newport's Bellevue Avenue Historic District, a federally recognized National Historic Landmark.
) but those claims appear not to be true. Description of bounds of the district in its 1976 NRHP document explain it goes north along Bellevue Avenue only as far as Memorial Boulevard, which is still south of the hotel.
References
- ^ a b c d e f "The Hotel Viking: History". Historic Hotels of America. Archived from the original on September 11, 2024. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
- ^ Judy Koutsky (October 19, 2020). "Hotel Viking: A Look Inside One Of Newport's Most Historic Properties". Forbes.
- ^ a b Natalie Gales (September 14, 2021). "Hotel Viking: A Luxurious, Historic Newport Getaway". North Shore.
- ^ Koutsky, Judy (October 19, 2020). "Hotel Viking: A Look Inside One Of Newport's Most Historic Properties". Forbes. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
- ^ a b "The Hotel Viking". Historic Hotels of America. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
- ^ a b Mark, Lois Alter (October 6, 2024). "Newport's Hotel Viking Combines History And Charm With Ideal Location". Forbes. Archived from the original on January 4, 2025. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
- ^ Gahr, David (July 1, 1963). "Bob Dylan at Newport". Getty Images. Newport Festivals Foundation. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
- ^ Gahr, David (July 1, 1963). "Bob Dylan and Composer Bill Lee at Newport Folk Festival". Getty Images. Newport Festivals Foundation. Retrieved January 4, 2025.