Former Drexel mansion destroyed by fire in Newport

An estate in the Newport, R.I., historic district that was once owned by Philadelphia's Drexel family has been destroyed after a massive fire.

The blaze engulfed the Bellevue Avenue mansion, which is called Stonor Lodge and had been undergoing a renovation, on Thursday evening.

The two-and-a-half story estate was built in the 1870s, according to National Register of Historic Places records.

It was previously owned by the Drexel family, which has significant ties to Philadelphia.

The property was passed on to the late John Drexel III, head of the powerful Philadelphia banking family, and his wife, Noreen Stonor Drexel, from hers parents in 1943, according to the local blog Newport Buzz.

John Drexel was the great-great-great-grandson of banking house Drexel & Company founder Francis Martin Drexel. His great-great-grandfather, Anthony J. Drexel, founded Drexel University and was a business partner of J.P. Morgan.

"It's so sad to think that - it's gone," the couple's daughter, Nonie Drexel, who lives in Scotland, told the NBC affiliate in Providence, R.I. "It had been put together with so many additions. It would have been a nightmare for a home decorator, but for a child growing up, it had all these nooks and crannies. It was a magical place."

The Noreen Stonor Drexel Trust sold the property in November 2013 for nearly $3.29 million to Whaletail L.L.C., according to the Newport Daily News.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation.