Features of Italianate architecture at Bellevue House include an L-shaped layout with two wings extending from a square central tower; different varieties and shapes of windows and roof gables; and multiple small balconies.

The Macdonalds rented Bellevue from Charles Hales in the hope that the fresh air of what were then the outer suburbs of Kingston would assist in Isabella's recovery.

In addition to this burden, tragedy further struck the young family when their first-born son, John Alexander Jr., died in the house a month after his first birthday.

As a lawyer and a member of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Canada, Macdonald was often absent from Bellevue House, visiting his second law office in Toronto or attending parliamentary sessions in Montreal.

The only guest that is known to have stayed at Bellevue House between 1848 and 1849 while the Macdonalds lived at the villa was Lt. Col. John Clark, an officer in the British military who was Isabella's brother and a trusted member of the family.

[5] Bellevue House continued to be inhabited by middle-class Kingston families until it was purchased by Parks Canada in 1964 with the intention of commemorating Sir John A.

Parks Canada historians and archaeologists did significant research to determine how the home would have appeared in the late 1840s, and it was restored both indoors and outdoors to its original colours and wallpaper patterns.