Salve's Seven Estates: The People

Built for Boston lawyer Andrew Ritchie, the three-story structure was designed by Seth Bradford and constructed in 1852-53. It was one of the early summer cottages in Newport. Many additions and renovations followed, one of which involved commissioning renowned architect Richard Morris Hunt by then-owner Levi P. Morton, who owned Fairlawn for 22 years. Hunt created a mirrored ballroom, and Tiffany-stained glass windows were incorporated into the design of the Great Hall in 1881. Morton was elected Vice President of the United States from 1889-1893, and Governor of New York in 1895. Morton also donated the land to the City of Newport in 1886 to create Morton Park. 

The home was later sold to I. Townsend Burden in 1890 and remained in his family estate until the 1920s.  For several decades the estate was used as a school. The home returned to private residential use in the 1960s.  At one point, the property was considerably damaged in a fire ignited by a plumber's candle. 

Salve Regina University acquired the property in 1997 for the Pell Center and it was eventually named for university benefactors Anita O'Keeffe and Robert R. Young. In 1999, the University received a historic preservation award from the Newport Historical Society for the Young Building's restoration.

Sources: Campus buildings for Salve Regina University, RIAMCO, The Salve Regina University brochure "“A walking tour of Salve Regina University: From Gilded Age estates to inspired education," and Newport Historical Society. 

The Young Building is named for longtime benefactors Robert and Anita O'Keeffe Young, pictured here circa 1957. Ochre Lodge, which now serves as the university's Multicultural House living learning community, was a gift to the university from Mrs. Young, sister of artist Georgia O'Keeffe. 

The New York Times, Sept. 19, 1895

The New York Times, July 20, 1953