John Tschirch
John Tschirch is an architectural historian, writer, and teacher. His latest books include Jamestown: Architecture, Landscape and the Making of a Rhode Island Paradise (2025), America’s Eden: Newport Landscapes through the Ages (2022), and Newport: The Artful City (2020), focused on the history of Newport’s urban plan and streetscapes, which received the Victorian Society of America Book Award in 2021. John received his MA (1986) in architectural history and historic preservation from the School of Architecture at the University of Virginia. His 30-year career in preservation led him on treks across the globe to study historic landmarks and landscapes from Newport “cottages” and Croatian fortresses to Cotswold villages.
He currently teaches courses in the history of drawing at Rhode Island School of Design and historic preservation at Roger Williams University and consults on historic preservation projects. From 1986–2013 he served as director of education and, later, as director of museum affairs and architectural historian for the 11 historic house museums and landscapes of the Preservation Society of Newport. He has lectured widely in the US and abroad on architecture, landscapes, and historic cities, from the Attingham Conference in London to Yale University’s Mellon Center Seminar on 18th-century French design and the UNESCO-sponsored conference on architecture and culture in Buenos Aires.
John’s work in preserving and interpreting historic places has been featured in The Magazine Antiques, Antiques and Fine Art, Traditional Building, Martha Stewart Living, The New York Times, and Conde Nast Traveler, and he has appeared on the A&E documentary series America’s Castles. He has published essays on history and sociocultural issues in The Public Humanist, Antiques and Fine Arts, and Yale University’s Encyclopedia of New England Culture. He has entered the world of historical fiction, inspired by his travels, with the publication of Gods and Girls: Tales of Art, Seduction and Obsession (2019). He is an honorary member of the Newport Garden Club and the Garden Club of America and was listed among a national group of architects and preservationists in “25 People Who Make a Difference” in 2023 by Traditional Building Magazine. He also received the 2013 Frederick C. Williamson Professional Leadership Award from the Rhode Island State Historic Preservation and Heritage Commission.