[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 69 (Thursday, May 8, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S2866]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  RECOGNIZING SALVE REGINA UNIVERSITY

 Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Madam President, in 1874, a financier named 
William Watts Sherman and his wife Annie Wetmore decided to build a 
house on a plot of land Wetmore had inherited from her father in 
Newport, RI, just a few blocks from Sheep Point Cove. The couple hired 
the respected architects H.H. Richardson and Stanford White, and chose 
the popular Queen Anne's style, which employed steeply sloping 
rooflines, gables, broad porches, and deep entranceways. But, as is the 
case with many in Rhode Island, they also wanted to put their own mark 
on the property--something that would set it apart from their 
neighbors. So they added new materials, like stucco, shingles, stained 
glass windows, and an asymmetrical layout to draw the eye in unexpected 
directions.
  The house was both fashionable and altogether different, and a new 
style was born. So it is that ``Shingle Style,'' as it came to be 
known, is traced back to Rhode Island and the William Watts Sherman 
House.
  Today the home is one of more than 21 historic buildings on the 
campus of Salve Regina University, which has sought to maintain the 
structures and commission new buildings that complement Newport's 
distinct architectural tradition. That is why Salve Regina University 
has been selected for the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art's 
prestigious Arthur Ross Award for Stewardship. It joins previous 
recipients that include the New York Botanical Garden in New York, 
Monticello, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation in Virginia, and the U.S. 
Commission of Fine Arts in Washington, D.C. The award recognizes the 
university's ``astute and indefatigable effort'' to preserve its legacy 
for future generations and expand upon the defining aesthetic of its 
campus and surrounding neighborhood. I could not imagine a more worthy 
recipient.
  The story of William Watts Sherman House is one of many examples of 
architectural innovation in the Ocean State, from ``stone-ender'' 
farmhouses in Lincoln, to vast industrial spaces like Slater Mill in 
Pawtucket, and to Gilded Age mansions like The Breakers in Newport. We 
see our own history reflected back to us through these structures, and 
by preserving them we see more clearly how much has changed and why.
  I am proud to see an institution that cares deeply about preserving 
Newport's architectural heritage receive worthy recognition. I applaud 
Salve Regina's dedication to Rhode Island's rich cultural history and 
congratulate them on this prestigious honor.

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