Mar 30, 1999
National Register of Historic Places - Rice House
Statement of Significant: The Rice House is significant under National Register Criterion B because of its association with Walter Rice whose contributions to international diplomacy, business and commerce have been significant; and under Criterion C because the house and its site were designed by master architect Richard Josef Neutra, and under Criterion Consideration G because the property has achieved exceptional significance, first, as one of few Neutra works built on the east coast and, second, because it has been the home of Ambassador and Mrs. Walter Rice during the most significant time of the Ambassador's career. Richard Neutra's design of the Rice House and its landscape was commissioned by prominent lawyer and business executive Walter L. Rice and his wife Inger Vestergaard Rice. Interrupted only by Walter Rice's 1969-1973 appointment as ambassador to Australia, the family has lived in the home since construction was completed in 1965. Richard Josef Neutra, with Mies Van der Rohe, Marcel Breuer, and Walter Gropius, was considered among America's finest immigrant architects. Best known for houses he designed in Southern California, most famously the Lovell Health House of 1929 and the Kaufman Desert House of 1946, Neutra accepted few commissions on the east coast. The Rice House vividly incorporates the architectural features and elements Neutra had employed and refined throughout his distinguished architectural career. Though less than one half century old, this property warrants listing because of its exceptional architectural significance in a city whose residential character is dominated by late-Victorian town houses and Colonial Revival neighborhoods. In order to recognize this importance, and to ensure preservation of the house and its natural setting, Ambassador and Mrs. Rice donated the property in 1996 to the Science Museum of Virginia Foundation.
National Register of Historic Places - Rice House
Statement of Significant: The Rice House is significant under National Register Criterion B because of its association with Walter Rice whose contributions to international diplomacy, business and commerce have been significant; and under Criterion C because the house and its site were designed by master architect Richard Josef Neutra, and under Criterion Consideration G because the property has achieved exceptional significance, first, as one of few Neutra works built on the east coast and, second, because it has been the home of Ambassador and Mrs. Walter Rice during the most significant time of the Ambassador's career. Richard Neutra's design of the Rice House and its landscape was commissioned by prominent lawyer and business executive Walter L. Rice and his wife Inger Vestergaard Rice. Interrupted only by Walter Rice's 1969-1973 appointment as ambassador to Australia, the family has lived in the home since construction was completed in 1965. Richard Josef Neutra, with Mies Van der Rohe, Marcel Breuer, and Walter Gropius, was considered among America's finest immigrant architects. Best known for houses he designed in Southern California, most famously the Lovell Health House of 1929 and the Kaufman Desert House of 1946, Neutra accepted few commissions on the east coast. The Rice House vividly incorporates the architectural features and elements Neutra had employed and refined throughout his distinguished architectural career. Though less than one half century old, this property warrants listing because of its exceptional architectural significance in a city whose residential character is dominated by late-Victorian town houses and Colonial Revival neighborhoods. In order to recognize this importance, and to ensure preservation of the house and its natural setting, Ambassador and Mrs. Rice donated the property in 1996 to the Science Museum of Virginia Foundation.
Mar 30, 1999
Posted Date
Jul 13, 2023
Historical Record Date
Mar 30, 1999
Source Name
National Register of Historic Places
