Architecture and History of Providence Extended Walking Tour

Entries on This Tour

1. Providence Biltmore (Graduate by Hilton Providence)

Reporting on the opening of the Biltmore on June 6, 1922, the Providence Journal declared that the event would be “the most elaborate social event ever to be held in the city.” Owners John Bowman and Louis Wallick did not disappoint, lighting the exterior of their hotel with 25,000 lights and inviting celebrities and prominent leaders from New York and other surrounding states. The Biltmore was the largest building in the city at the time and held six hundred guest rooms. Although the building survived several natural disasters, including a hurricane in 1938 that left the lobby under eight feet of standing water. However, the luxury hotel almost succumbed to the effects of suburbanization, the changing tastes of consumers, and the proliferation of smaller hotels. With fewer guests staying downtown and far more costs related to maintenance than newer hotels, the Biltmore closed in 1974. With the help of federal tax credits for historic buildings, a group of investors were able to purchase and renovate the property in the following years. The hotel re-opened in 1979 and has changed hands several times in recent years. Following several extensive remodeling projects in the 2010s, the hotel operates as the Graduate by Hilton Providence.

2. Providence City Hall

Constructed between 1875 and 1878, this Second Empire Baroque structure has been the only building dedicated entirely to holding the offices of Providence's municipal government, despite many other buildings and meetinghouses serving in this capacity from the colonial period to the late 19th century. For example, the mayor and Board of Alderman had offices above the spaces reserved for vendors in the old Market Square building from the 1830s until the completion of this building.

3. Haven Brothers Diner

Perhaps the nation's oldest mobile historic landmark, this 1940s-era diner traces its heritage back to the late 19th century, when it began as a horse-drawn lunch wagon. After public outcry in the 1980s when city leaders tried to prevent the lunch wagon from operating next to city hall, the Providence institution has a reserved parking space and operates here from 5PM to sometime between 2 and 3AM each night. Despite many times when the business faced potential closure, the diner endured and remains one of the oldest continuously operating lunch wagons in the United States. When Patrick Haven died in 1888, his widow, Anne Philomena Haven, decided to establish a lunch wagon with the help of her daughter and son-in-law. Beginning sometime around 1893, the Haven family drove the cart (later upgraded to a rail diner car on a flatbed truck) to the same location in front of the Providence City Hall every day for several generations. In the 1950s, the Havens family sold the business, but little has changed with this popular Providence establishment. The diner's longevity has not been without controversy, as several city officials attempted to force the diner to stop parking next to the city hall at various times throughout the 20th century.

4. Union Trust Company Building

Designed by the local architectural firm of Stone, Carpenter and Wilson, the Union Trust Building - a twelve-story steel-framed structure, externally faced in brick and stone - was constructed by the Union Trust Bank, headed by prominent financier Marsden J. Perry, in 1901-1902. It is in the Renaissance Revival style and was among the tallest buildings in New England at the time it was completed. A banking publication of 1904 wrote of the building: “Rising to a height of 12 stories, it stands a graceful monument of prosperity based upon sound financial methods.” It is currently owned by Providence Capital LLC; the Dorrance Restaurant is on the first floor, where the bank's offices once stood. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.

5. Arcade Providence

The Arcade Providence, also known as Westminster Arcade, is the first and oldest enclosed shopping mall in the United States. Built in 1828, the Arcade offers an example of Greek-revival architecture applied to a public market. When the Arcade opened in the early 19th-century, the mall featured three floors of shops, each designed around the central promenade. Skylights in the building's ceiling provided illumination until the incorporation of electric light. The historic shopping area and public space has survived a fire and three major hurricanes. More consequential to its survival, however, has been changes in consumer shopping patterns that has nearly led to the demolition of this structure on numerous occasions. Due to its historic significance as the first enclosed mall in the United States, and the broader role in played in the Providence community, the Arcade Providence was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1971 and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1976.

6. Industrial National Bank Building a/k/a "The Superman Building"

There is one iconic structure marking the Providence skyline, commonly referred to as the “Superman Building.” It was erected for the Industrial National Bank in 1928 as a headquarters for their successful business. But since the 1950s, people have referred to it as the “Superman Building” because it resembles the famous skyscraper Americans were used to seeing in the popular television series. Currently, the building is vacant. Its most recent tenant, Bank of America, moved out of the building in 2013.

7. Turk's Head Building

The Turk’s Head Building is an interesting structure built at the intersection of Westminster and Weybosset Streets in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. The v-shaped skyscraper consists of 16 stories and stands 215 feet tall. It was originally designed and built in the early twentieth century (1913). The structure’s front entrance is ornamented with a sculpture of a Turkish man’s head. Currently, the building is used primarily for office and retail space.

8. United States Customshouse

Built between 1855 and 1857, the U.S. Customshouse has been home to numerous federal offices for a century and a half. When erected, with the purpose to function as a customs house coincided with Providence's emergence as the financial and trade hub for the state. Even as the economy changed to one based on industry and manufacturing, Providence remained vital to the economy because banks, insurance companies, and other financial institutions -- as well as the customs house -- supported the industry that developed throughout the state.

9. Rhode Island Hospital Trust Building

The steel-framed Rhode Island Hospital Trust Building (built 1917) stands eleven stories and marked by its marble-faced low levels and limestone facing above. building, faced mostly in limestone, with marble at the lowest level. The building stands as a reminder of the significance of banking institutions as the country approached the Gilded Age. The historic structure served the Rhode Island Hospital Trust, a banking institution founded in 1867 to manage the financial affairs of 1863-chartered Rhode Island Hospital, founded in 1863. The building now exists as part of the Rhode Island School of Design, housing its Fleet Library and housing for roughly 500 students.

10. Merchants Bank Building, Providence

Constructed in 1857, this uniquely narrow six-story building was home to Merchants Bank, a financial firm that was integral to the economy of Providence in the 19th century. Upon completion, the Italianate structure stood as the tallest building in Providence and as a hub of the city's financial district. The bank occupied this building until 1920.

11. The Hurricane of September 21st 1938 Historical Marker

The 1938 New England Hurricane was one of the deadliest and most destructive hurricanes to ever hit New England, killing 682 people and destroying 57,000 homes across the East Coast. At this site near Canal Walk and on the side of the Old Market House, the Hurricane of September 21st, 1938, historical marker displays the height of the water sea as it tore through Providence. The city was hit especially hard, sweeping summer cottages out to sea. Because of economic difficulties caused by the Great Depression, much of what remained of Providence was looted after the storm was hit (and before the flood waters retreated). The Fox Point Hurricane was finally built after the 1938 and the 1954 hurricanes to avoid such extreme surges from flooding downtown again.

12. Weybosset Bridge Historical Marker

Weybosset Bridge was he first bridge over the Providence River, constructed in 1660 in place of a ford crossing. This first bridge connected Weybosset Neck and the path leading to the Pequot lands in Connecticut. This historical marker offers a concise history of the former bridge which was destroyed and rebuilt at least seven times in its history. By 1940, expansions to the bridge had led to a width of 1,147 feet, the widest bridge in the world at the time, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. In 1984, the bridge size was reduced to improve the river and shoreline.

13. Governor Stephen Hopkins House

The Governor Stephen Hopkins House is a museum and National Historic Landmark in Providence, Rhode Island. The house was the home of Stephen Hopkins, a local businessman, politician, governor of Rhode Island and signatory of the Declaration of Independence. The house was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970, and declared a National Historic Landmark in 1978.

14. The Providence Athenaeum

The Providence Athenaeum is a Library and Museum that was founded in 1836 after the merging of a previous Providence Athenaeum (1831) and the Providence Library Company (1753). According to the Libraries' website, both of these organizations dissolved and formed a new library, combining the collections of each institution. There is a ton of history wrapped up in this Library, including frequent visits from famous authors like H.P. Lovecraft, Edgar Allan Poe, and Sarah Helen Whitman. Any fan of these authors would enjoy a visit to this Library, and any history buff would be fascinated by the extensive history embodied here.

15. Burning of British Taxed Tea- Historical Marker

Near the spot indicated by this marker, citizens of Providence burned British taxed tea to represent their views on unfair taxation. This happened on the night of March 2, 1775.

16. Market House

Market House was constructed in 1775 by Joseph Brown, a prominent local architect, and Stephen Hopkins, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. The bottom level originally functioned as a market place while meetings took place upstairs. the building was the site of numerous historically significant political events and protests while the building itself has hosted civic functions and meetings of local organizations nearly two-and-a-half centuries. During the American Revolution, French soldiers encamped in Providence used the Market House as their barracks. The Providence City Council used the building as their headquarters for decades before the city built a dedicated City Hall.

17. Dr. George W. Carr House

The historic Dr. George W. Carr House (1885) was one of Providence's most prominent Queen Anne style buildings, designed by architect Edward I. Nickerson. The Rhode Island School of Design purchased the building in 1916, and has since used it for a variety of functions.

18. First Baptist Church in America

Providence's First Baptist Church was constructed between 1774 and 1775 by a congregation first founded by Roger Williams in 1638. Church divisions and the belief that lavish church facilities were a sign of vanity thwarted previous efforts towards building a substantial church edifice. By the mid-1770s, a more unified congregation and an acceptance that a substantial meeting hall was necessary and proper led to the construction of this building.

19. Fleur-de-lys Studios

Built in 1885, the Fleur-de-lys Studios is a unique historical building in Providence. It was designed by Sydney Burleigh and Edmund Russell Wilson in the Tudor Revival style (other artists contributed to the building as well). It is a 2.5 story wood frame structure with decorative stucco artwork in between the timbers. The building was meant to serve as a place where artists could have their studios and this remains the function today. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1992.

20. Elizabeth Building

The Elizabeth Building (1876) represents an era when cast-iron commercial building dominated urban downtown regions, both in Providence and throughout the nation, serving as the precursor to the modern, steel skyscraper. The building is one of the few remaining buildings built during the era. The structure arose concurrently with Providence's population boom (growing more than 50% during the 1870s) and commercial construction boom.

21. Joseph and William Russell House

Constructed in 1772, the Russell house stands as a monument to a time when the Atlantic World economy -- including the slave trade -- was the cornerstone of Providence and the economic engine behind the growth of the American colonies. Joseph and William Russell were two of the leading merchants in colonial Providence thanks to their participation in the trade with the West Indies. This building was the first three-story structure in Providence. The British blockade of shipping lanes during the Revolutionary War caused the Russell Brothers to suffer financial peril, forcing them to sell the house in 1798 to another prominent Providence resident, John Corliss.

22. Shakespeare's Head (John Carter House)

Shakespeare's Head (also known as the John Carter House) was built in 1772. The owner was publisher John Carter, and the building functioned not only as a home to his family, but also as a post office, bookshop, and printing shop of the Providence Gazette, Providence's first newspaper. Carter's advertising sign outside the building depicted a bust of Shakespeare, earning the house its nickname. The house and a restored Colonial-style garden are now owned by the Providence Preservation Society of Rhode Island.

23. Meeting Street School

Now the headquarters of the Providence Preservation Society, this historic building was the first brick school built in the city of Providence. The building was also used by Rhode Island College (Brown University today) and even served as an arsenal and temporary military hospital during the American Revolution. In 1800, education pioneer John Howland purchased the building and operated one of the first schools in the United States to be completely free and open to the public. In 1828, the school leaders decided to freely admit children of color, making this the first integrated public school in American history.

24. Stephen Harris House

Benefit Street is the oldest street in Providence and home to the oldest house in the city. Constructed in 1763, this house once belonged to prosperous merchant Stephen Harris. The handsome 18th century clapboard has been well-preserved. The house A terrible tale full of dark deeds, horrible hauntings and fantastic fiction that has caused 135 Benefit Street to be known, both locally and world-wide, as the “Shunned House”.

25. Sullivan Dorr House

Designed by architect John Holden Greene and completed in 1809, this Georgian mansion appears much as it did in the early republic. The home was built for Sullivan Door, an important business leader and father of father of Thomas Wilson Dorr, the leader of Rhode Island's Dorr Rebellion which led to universal male suffrage in 1842. The mansion is also located at the site of the former home of Providence founder Roger Williams, who was once buried at this site (since moved).

This Tour is a Walking Tour.

Architecture and History of Providence Extended Walking Tour

Created by Sandra Browning on October 5th 2018, 12:02:29 pm.

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Description

Welcome to Providence and please enjoy some of the best historical, artistic, and architectural landmarks our city has to offer. This tour includes over two dozen historic buildings and makes a counter-clockwise loop through the heart of downtown Providence starting with the historic Biltmore and working its way to landmarks and historic homes along Westminster and Main Streets before turning towards the state capitol. Additional highlights that can be found in Clio include the nearby Waterplace Park which is home to the critically-acclaimed WaterFire Art Installation.

Entries on This Tour

Architecture and History of Providence Extended Walking Tour

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