Historic Walking Tours of Narragansett Pier
Narragansett Pier, R.I., Illustrated, 1891 (SCM) SCM photo-jrt 2010
Hopewell Cottage
51 Ocean Road
Architectural Description
Two-story, gableroofed frame dwelling with a veranda and a broad front gambrel containing a central Palladian window
set under a shingled hood which swells out from the wall surface.
Architect
Additions to Hopewell may have been designed by William Gibbons Preston of Boston. Howard Lapsley, Hitchcock’s
father-in-law, had Preston design a house for him off Ocean Road further south, and papers contain references which
seem to indicate that Lapsley may have hired him to renovate Hopewell in the early 189Os.(HS91)
Original Owner/Resident
Dr. Charles Hitchcock of New York
Year Built
1890
Comments
Dr. Hitchcock was a prominent summer resident who played an instrumental role in founding the Narragansett Pier
Improvement Association and the Narragansett Casino Association. Hitchcock was Charles F. McKim’s personal
physician and may have helped to obtain for him the commission to design the Narragansett Casino.