Luce Hall

Luce Hall was the first purpose-built building for the U.S. Naval War College, founded at Newport, Rhode Island, in 1884. It is located at Building 1, Luce Avenue, Naval Station Newport. The building is named after Rear Admiral Stephen Luce.

Luce Hall
LocationBuilding 1
Luce Avenue
Naval Station Newport
Coordinates41°30′24″N 71°19′44″W
Arealess than one acre
Built1890
ArchitectGeorge C. Mason & Son
Part ofOriginal US Naval War College (ID66000876)
NRHP reference No.72001439[1]
Significant dates
Added to NRHPSeptember 22, 1972
Designated NHLDCPJanuary 29, 1964

In a Flemish style inspired by the town hall and guild halls on the Grote Markt in Antwerp, Belgium, local Newport architects George C. Mason & Son designed the building for the Navy with gables facing Narragansett Bay. It was completed on 22 May 1892 at the cost of $82,875, with the remainder of the $100,000 Congressional appropriation being spent on heating and equipment. The building was originally designed to have four sets of officers' quarters, one in each corner of the building, with the College classrooms, library, and administration located in the center section. This usage remained until 1914, when the entire building was opened for official uses.

The building in 2020

The building was the main administrative building for the Naval War College from 1892, when Captain Alfred Thayer Mahan was President of the Naval War College for his second time, until 1974 during the presidency of Vice Admiral Stansfield Turner, when the president's office was moved to newly constructed Conolly Hall.

The building was designated part of a National Historic Landmark District, along with the building that is now the Naval War College Museum (which housed the college's first facilities but was built in 1819 to house Newport's poor), in 1964.[2] It was separately listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1972.[1]

See also

References
  • John B. Hattendorf, B. Mitchell Simpson III, John R. Wadleigh, Sailors and Scholars: The Centennial History of the U.S. Naval War College (1984)
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. "NRHP nomination for Original US Naval War College". National Park Service. Retrieved 2014-11-05.


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