The Thomas Peckham House at 395 Benefit Street is a stately, modified Italianate style residence typical of the middle-upper-class residents of Providence’s East Side neighborhood in the middle of the 19th century. The house here was built sometime before 1824, likely around that time for Thomas Peckham (1783-1843), who worked as the Deputy Collector of the port of Providence. The Peckham House was likely built as a brick, two-story Federal style house, that was expanded by his heirs in 1853 in the Italianate style, boxing off the building’s roof. Emblematic of the large Italianate homes on College Hill in Providence, the Peckham House features a boxy form, shallow hip roof with monitor, and bracketed cornice and door hood, which has engaged columns.
Buildings of New England 
Thank you for sharing the photo and backgroung info about the Peckham house. It strikes me as a handsome and yet modest residence. Still, my curiosity is piqued by a couple of things. When was the white aluminum drain pipe installed? Were there structural conditions at the roof or at ground level that precluded locating the pipe on the side of the building, or perhaps financial factors at the time led to a decision to position it where it is? I am rather intrigued, too, that over the course of 150-200 years apparently no contractor has stepped forward to find a way to install a footing for the handsome street lantern post in order to modify its vertical lean. Perhaps my understanding and appreciation for the site would be enhanced only by an actual visit to the location. Thanks, again, for your good endeavors.
Tony Ludovico.
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