It was designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL) in 1968 due to its extensive and well-preserved assortment of intact colonial buildings dating from the early and mid-18th century.

Land use varies from commercial, mainly street-level retailing, along heavily trafficked Thames and America's Cup Avenue to primarily residential along the side streets to the east.

In 2007 the city proposed increasing the district's boundaries to include the ten-acre (4 ha) common burial ground at the north end, which dates to 1660.

In the early 1730s, efforts to bring some formal planning to Newport's development resulted in the construction of two major brick buildings showing heavy influence of the Georgian style then being popularized in London by Sir Christopher Wren.

The Old Colony House and the Brick Market stand at opposite ends of Washington Square, then known as the Parade, and were meant to make it the kind of dignified public space found in English cities of the period.

[6] One of these homes, Hunter House, another NHL located along the water in Easton's Point, is preserved today for its quality cabinetry, much of it originally manufactured in Newport.

After the legislature moved to Providence full-time in 1900, depriving the city of some of its economy, the newer residents began to show an interest in preserving Newport's rich architectural past.

[2][10] The loss of the naval fleet in 1971 was a serious blow to the economy, and eventually the city controversially authorized the removal of many old factories, warehouses, and historic structures along the water, just west of the district boundary for the construction of retail facilities such as Brick Market Place and Long Wharf Mall, hotels, condominiums and America's Cup Avenue, a multilane through street whose name reflected the sloop races that then drew crowds to the city every few years.

The downtown area adapted by focusing on shopping opportunities for the tourists who were drawn to Newport to visit the many mansions every summer, and promoting its own historic buildings.

The historic district retained enough of its character that Steven Spielberg came there in 1997 to film Amistad, deeming it a sufficient stand-in for 1840s New Haven, Connecticut, where the real case took place.