Seaside Victorian to Be Saved & Chronicled by This Old House

Seaside Victorian to Be Saved & Chronicled by This Old House 1024 732 Sweenor Builders - Custom Home Building & Remodeling - Rhode Island

We’re pleased to announce the start of a significant historic preservation project in the heart of Narragansett’s Pier neighborhood, just steps from the white sands of Narragansett Beach.  The focus of our project is a Queen Anne Victorian home originally built in 1887 when Narragansett first surged in popularity as a summer resort.  More than a century later, and after having been abandoned for a few years, the home sits prominently along one of Narragansett’s main thoroughfares in severely poor condition.

On behalf of new homeowners, Sweenor Builders will lead the sweeping restoration of the home to address rot, deterioration, and structural damage while preserving as much historic architectural value and charm as possible.  The project is being completed to Narragansett Historic District Commission (HDC) guidelines, and its’ story will be chronicled on the 42nd season of This Old House TV. 

 “This is a unique opportunity to fuse craftsmanship, modern utility, and neighborhood revitalization in one project.  Our team is deeply vested in the village of Narragansett, and we look forward to continuing our working relationships with This Old House and the HDC to make a positive impact in one of our favorite neighborhoods.”
JEFF SWEENOR

Dan Harding, sales associate at independently owned specialty brokerage Lila Delman, listed the property and was instrumental to finding buyers with a vision to preserve the home.  Our team’s updated design maintains period architectural details such as decorative columns and brackets, sawtooth and fishscale shingles, eyebrow siding details, the “rising sun” patterned clapboard gable pictured below, and more. It also preserves windows, improves the foundation and footings, addresses the deteriorating porch and rotting roof, and introduces a new addition which includes a two-car garage and mudroom on the first floor, and master suite on the second floor, to match the existing structure without overpowering it.

This project will build on our team’s Narragansett restoration experience including the renovation of Stone Lea, the 1884 home designated on the National Registry of Historic Places, and our re-imagination of Caswell Street Cottages which were honored by the Narragansett Historic District Commission in an inaugural award ceremony last year.

This is the fifth time that Sweenor’s work will be featured on This Old House, and the second time while working in Narragansett.   Previous projects that have been documented by the home enthusiast brand include the transformation of a Westerly ranch home in 2019, a net zero renovation in Jamestown in 2018, and the 2017 and 2018 This Old House Idea Houses in East Matunuck and Narragansett, respectively. To see them in greater detail, please click here.