Interview with Jon-Paul Couture

Jon-Paul "JP" Couture is an architect in Rhode Island who specializes in the restoration of historic properties. His vast portfolio of 34 years spans across the state, working with over 100 properties. He currently heads his own firm, JP Couture Architect, Inc.

When not at work, JP is active in the community. He has served on numerous boards, including Historic New England, the Providence Preservation Society, and the Providence Revolving Fund. He currently sits on the board of the RI Historical Society.

1. How did you first become interested in Historic Preservation?

Growing up in rural Massachusetts in a small town with wonderful federal houses certainly helped, as did visiting my grandmother’s Greek revival house in Lowell, Massachusetts with its original ell and stable certainly added to my interest. However, probably the biggest influence was the massive preservation and rehabilitation work that was undertaken in Lowell during the 70’s and 80’s.  It was my first exposure to preservation and adaptive re-use and thankfully, my parents were as fascinated as I was by the work being done on mills, schools, canal locks and the ‘downtown’ commercial district, so we regularly took the 30 minute drive into the city to see the work being done and tour much of the Park Service work as well. 

2. Is there a particular project that you are especially proud of?

I have been fortunate to work on over 100 historic properties over the last 34 years from Westerly, Narragansett, Newport, Bristol, and many other Rhode Island towns but the one that I would single out as a personal favorite is called Fairlawn, a 19th century mansion on Bellevue Avenue in Newport. I worked on this house early in my career while an Associate at the Newport Collaborative under John Grosvenor and despite its rather heavy appearance that I attribute to the accurate, but dark color scheme (original) it is a very special building. Originally built and designed by Seth Bradford, a local stonemason, it was expanded by several noted architects. First, a ballroom was added by Richard Morris Hunt for Levi Morton who served as Benjamin Harrison’s vice president, for a visit by Harrison in the 1880’s. It was then added to several years later by McKim, Meade and White, receiving a new kitchen and a large guest wing of 3 floors.  When the next family, the I. Townsend Burdens learned they had a child marrying into the Vanderbilt family, they undertook the largest and most comprehensive remodel of its history to make it as grand as any other Newport showplace, with a porte cochere, a veranda featuring an early Italian Renaissance della Robbia sculpture, a stair tower, a grand staircase with an enormous Tiffany window and a banquet-sized dining room, all by Allard et cie. — who designed the interiors of Marble House and the first floor of the Breakers. The task was to restore the neglected building, create the newly formed Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy as well as dormitory space for Salve Regina. The research and investigation was fascinating and deciding how to honor each phase of the house’s history and their special features while meeting building codes, schedules and budgets was an enormous task but with a great team and supportive owner and city, the end result was really wonderful 

3. What advice would you give to a homeowner considering restoring a historic property?

I think that whether the work is classified as preservation, rehabilitation or renovation, when it comes to an historic property, like most things in life, experience is critical. Historic properties have so many special features that we all love and admire, but there are also surprises or problems to go along with those. An experienced architect can ‘read’ a building and understand its challenges and changes made over time, make educated guesses about things that can’t be seen but may come up in the process and have an innate understanding of how to deal with these (sometimes) unpleasant things in an efficient yet thoughtful way while maintaining the integrity of the house and features that drew the buyer to it in the first place. 

4. What do you find most challenging currently about historic restoration?

Perhaps the biggest challenge we face related to preservation, and sadly, Providence in particular, is complacency. We have been incredibly fortunate that so much great preservation work was done in the city since the 1950’s when the 3rd oldest preservation organization in the country led the charge to safeguard our past. Professional preservationists, homeowners, developers and our elected leadership did such a great job doing the hard and sometimes controversial work of preservation that many just assume that the city always looked the way it does today, and that it will continue to look this way for years to come or become even more beautiful.  

Of course, with the passage of time, things change, and not always for the better. While state laws, zoning ordinances and planning departments have provided the framework for a preservation ethic to thrive here, the commitment to continue the work in a way that is economically feasible and appropriate for all neighborhoods is dependent on strong leadership and a belief that preservation matters. While new buildings have gone up and some really great preservation work has been carried out by private individuals in recent years, the last two decades have seen the destruction of many significant buildings and landscapes in favor of surface parking lots, non-profit expansion and subdivisions. The effects are not immediately clear as an individual project may not ‘ruin’ a neighborhood, but the cumulative effect will be as devastating as the results of the city’s economic decline in the 20th century and midcentury urban renewal.  Although there are many complicated facets to this topic, I think we only have to look to ‘The Superman’ building, College Hill, and the deterioration of city hall, to see that we need to remain vigilant. 

5. Favorite historic place in Rhode Island?

As a lover of domestic architecture, that is a tough question since Rhode Island still has one of the most wonderful collections of 18th and 19th century houses anywhere in the country. If I were to choose one, it would be the Sullivan Dorr House on Benefit Street built and designed by John Holden Greene. Although Greene was self-taught, this house has it all, a great site, elegant massing and proportions and very refined details. Built on land owned by Roger Williams and connected to many aspects of Rhode Island’s unique history, including the fact that it was restored during the early years of the Providence preservation movement, it’s at the top of my list.