Building 10 on Luce Avenue at Naval Station Newport houses the Naval War College Museum. This is one of ten official American museums operated by the United States Navy, under the direction of the Naval History & Heritage Command and in co-operation with the Naval War College. The building you face first housed the Naval War College and was built in the early 19th century to shelter Newport’s poor.
Now called Founders Hall, it was built in 1819 as the Newport Poor Asylum. The city of Newport and the state of Rhode Island donated this property to the Navy, and College president Rear Admiral Stephen B. Luce formally dedicated the building to the Navy’s use. The Naval War College established the Naval Museum in 1952 with the approval of the Chief of Naval Operations to manage its collections of historical artifacts, and the museum has occupied these quarters on Coasters Harbor Island in Narragansett Bay since 1978.
This place is a contributing element to a National Historic Landmark District, along with Luce Hall, and it became famous between 1886 and 1889. Notice Luce Hall nearby, and the sweep of Narragansett Bay beyond you.