A theme of this corner of the Point is large, two-and-one-half-story eighteenth-century gambrel-roofed houses. This block of Washington Street provides an example of “half,” “threequarter,” and “full” houses, based on a five-windowed width as the ideal front elevation. The first of these, the Duhane-Porter House, is a three-quarter type (with four windows across the front). The door, as a result, is asymmetrically placed, here simple and transom lighted. On the Washington Street side, the two-room plan is clearly indicated by paired windows to front and side, each with its own fireplace from a central chimney. The side elevation is deep as a result, the gambrel folding broadly to embrace it. Porter, the common name for the house, comes from a wealthy Bristol, Rhode Island, privateer who was a later owner. When the Proprietors of Long Wharf, as a civic gesture, set up the first free school for the poor in Newport, Captain Porter contributed a large sum of money, together with his house and grounds, for the purpose. It opened to students in 1814.
The Ann Webber House has a full five-bay elevation with a freer arrangement of windows on the side. The central door is recent. The Isaac Dayton House is a gabled half house, with its replacement door in one corner and chimney on an end wall.