New Cliff House, also formerly known as the Hotel Gilmore and now known as the Sylvia Beach Hotel, is a historic hotel building in Newport, Oregon.

New Cliff House
Photograph of the New Cliff House, with three green-painted stories and a peaked roof visible above a grassy bank
The New Cliff House in 2008
New Cliff House is located in Oregon
New Cliff House
New Cliff House is located in the United States
New Cliff House
Location267 NW Cliff Street
Newport, Oregon
Coordinates44°38′18″N 124°03′44″W / 44.638238°N 124.062130°W / 44.638238; -124.062130
AreaLess than 1 acre (0.40 ha)
Built1913
Architectural styleCraftsman[2]
NRHP reference No.86002962[1]
Added to NRHPNovember 6, 1986

History

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The hotel was built in 1913 for W. D. Wheeler and was promoted by the Southern Pacific Railroad in its literature advertising the connection of Yaquina Bay to the mail rail line at Corvallis. The New Cliff House replaced an earlier boarding house (the "Cliff House") at the same location. The popularity of the new resort at Newport was enhanced by the availability of alcohol, something unusual in the mostly "dry" area. The hotel overlooks Nye Beach, and is the only remnant of the tourist accommodations of that era in the Nye Beach section of Newport.

Description

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As built, the New Cliff House had its kitchen and service areas in the basement, with a dining room at the end of that level overlooking the ocean. The lobby is on the main level, with some sleeping rooms. Parlor rooms and sleeping rooms occupied the second and third floors.[2]

The building is L-shaped with a gabled roof, measuring about 80 feet (24 m) by 30 feet (9.1 m), with a 10-foot (3.0 m) by 27-foot (8.2 m) extension. It is built in wood frame and covered in wood shingles, set on a concrete and stone foundation. The elevations feature simple double-hung sash windows, regularly spaced.[2]

The hotel is relatively unaltered, with most changes on the lower level. Individual room arrangements have been changed to provide private toilets for the rooms. A moderate proportion of the original trim remains.[2]

Present Sylvia Beach House

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New Cliff House was placed on the National Register of Historic Places on November 6, 1986.[1] It is operated[when?] as the Sylvia Beach Hotel, named for Sylvia Beach, opening under that name on the hundredth anniversary of the birth of Sylvia Beach, March 14, 1987.[3] It was the creation of Goody Cable and Sally Ford.[4] The present hotel, in keeping with its name, has a literary theme, with each guest room dedicated to a well-known author and decorated to reflect the author's life and work.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. July 9, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d Faegre, Aron (March 1986), National Register of Historic Places Inventory — Nomination Form: New Cliff House, National Park Service, retrieved August 28, 2012.
  3. ^ "Welcome to the Sylvia Beach Hotel". Sylvia Beach Hotel. Retrieved August 28, 2012.
  4. ^ "Finding conversation and contemplation among book lovers at Oregon's Sylvia Beach Hotel". roadtrippers.com. 6 March 2020. Retrieved November 27, 2021.
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