Ocean House, Rhode Island
| Ocean House | |
|---|---|
 |
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| General information | |
| Address | 1 Bluff Avenue Watch Hill, RI 02891 |
| Coordinates | 41°18′37.3″N 71°51′13.2″W / 41.310361°N 71.853667°WCoordinates: 41°18′37.3″N 71°51′13.2″W / 41.310361°N 71.853667°W |
| Technical details | |
| Floor area | 152,165 square feet (14,136.6 m2) |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect | Centerbrook Architects and Planners (2010 Redevelopment) |
| Developer | Charles M. Royce (2010 Redevelopment) |
| Website | |
| http://www.oceanhouseri.com/ | |
Ocean House is a large, Victorian-style waterfront hotel originally constructed in 1868 on Bluff Avenue in the Watch Hill historic district of Westerly, Rhode Island.
The original 1868 hotel closed in 2003; it was demolished in 2005 and a new facility opened in 2010 on the same site which retained much of the original structure's form and appearance, as well as the original name. Both the original and its reconstruction are noted for their rambling Victorian architecture and distinctive yellow siding.
The original Ocean House was the last waterfront Victorian-era hotel on mainland Rhode Island.
The Ocean House was originally built in 1868. It was smaller than the other hotels located on Watch Hill, but it expanded with numerous additions over the years. The original Ocean House was a central structure in the Watch Hill Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In March, 2004, Girouard Associates of New Canaan, Connecticut purchased the facility from heirs of the Louis D. Miller family, which had owned the hotel since 1938. Girouard Associates intended to raze Ocean House and build five large oceanfront homes, but a protest ensued. A new buyer was ultimately found, and the spirit of the original building was preserved, although not the actual building.
The motion picture starring Douglas Fairbanks was filmed at the Ocean House in 1916.
Factors related to the closing of the original Ocean House included its lack of modern amenities, its dilapidated condition, and its non-compliance with current building codes. The original Ocean House operated seasonally, open roughly three months a year, and the building lacked a heating, air conditioning, and ventilation system. In the last years of its operation, the top two floors were unused and only 59 rooms were serviceable out of its original 159. The aging facility lacked requisite amenities, service functions, egress requirements, handicapped accessibility requirements, and parking to meet modern codes. A newspaper article described its final condition: "Grand staircases lead nowhere. Rainwater seeps through the walls and runs down wired-in-place gutters. The oak elevator is broken."
The 138 year-old building was non-compliant with current building and life safety codes. Its timber structure had been compromised by indiscriminate installation of electric, gas, and plumbing utilities, as well as a subsequent reconfiguration of rooms to include private bathrooms. Rhode Island's fire codes were revised and more rigorously enforced after the 2003 Station nightclub fire, rendering the deficiencies insurmountable at Ocean House. Compliance with current life-safety standards, including those for hurricane and wind protection, required installation of interior structural shear walls, new hurricane-rated windows with new frames, a new concrete foundation with steel tie-downs throughout, stripping off all interior and exterior lead paint, and removal of interior mold requiring demolition of interior finishes.
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