Audrain Building

The Audrain Building is an architecturally significant commercial building located at 220-230 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, Rhode Island.

Audrain Building

The building was constructed 1902-1903 to designs by noted architect Bruce Price. It is one of four buildings that form a distinguished central block within Newport, the others being the Travers Block (Richard Morris Hunt), Newport Casino (McKim, Mead, and White), and King Block (Perkins and Betton).

The building is two stories tall and forms six shop-front bays, with exterior dimensions of 110 by 73.5 feet. It is faced in red brick with brightly colored terra cotta trim accentuating the bays and roofline. Street-level ornamentation is relatively restrained but increases at the arched second floor windows and cornice.[1]

Recently renovated, the new owner has brought the building back to its original splendor. Currently, the building houses one of the most significant car museums in the Northeast. The "Audrain Automobile Museum" (www.audrainautomuseum.org), which is structured as "More of an Art Museum Than a Car Museum", opened in October 2014 and hosts more than 40,000 visitors per year. The museum's director, David de Muzio, spent more than 25 years as a Senior Conservator at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. With a significant amount of museum experience, Mr. de Muzio curates the museum's collection to flow in the style of a bespoke art museum and gallery. On display at any given time, visitors can see some of the world's rarest cars.

In October 2019, the museum hosted the Audrain’s Newport Concours & Motor Week [2]]