Redwood: America's oldest lending library. Since 1747 The Redwood Library has been located at 50 Bellevue Avenue in Newport. The building was the first major architectural commission of Peter Harrison, who used a drawing of a Roman Doric temple as a model for his design. Edith Wharton, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Julia Ward Howe, Charles Bird King and Henry James are some of America's best-loved authors who found this library and atheneum to be a haven. The library is open to the public without charge and is a valuable source of information for scholars and researchers who make use of the old collections. It hosts lectures, exhibitions, fine arts displays and other educational activities offered to the community throughout the year. Subscribers may borrow books, recordings and magazines.