Rhode Island History

Old Stone Bank // 1896

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The Old Stone Bank was founded in 1819 as the first savings bank in Providence, Rhode Island, but originally under the name, Providence Institution for Savings. A constantly growing volume of business influenced the erection, in 1854, of a building for the exclusive purposes of the bank at 86 South Main Street, near College Hill. Designed by C.J. and R.J. Hall, the original stone bank stood one-story tall with a gable roof. Success and further expansion of the institution led to the erection, in 1896, of the present building, which served as the main office. Designed by the local architectural firm of Stone, Carpenter & Willson, the present domed banking structure is said to have incorporated parts of the 1854 building, and expanded the rest to the landmark we see today. The Beaux Arts/Neo-Classical banking structure is constructed of granite, with a Classical pedimented entry of monumental Corinthian columns atop the staircase, but the highlight of the building has to be the gold-leaf-and-copper domed roof which partially served as a skylight for the banking hall inside. Offices relocated to a new building in the late 1960s. The banking institution closed in the 1980s and following acquisitions and insolvency, the main bank was sold in 1995 to Brown University for $1.15 million to house the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology‘s collection of Native American artifacts. Years later, Brown decided it was unfeasible to house the collection in the building as the necessary alterations would have altered the historic character of the building, they then sold the building to an LLC in 2009. The Old Stone Bank is now a single-family home. Yes, you heard that right. The new owners have lovingly preserved this architectural marvel for all to enjoy as they stroll the city.

C & J Mauran Company Warehouse // c.1820

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In Providence, even industrial warehouses are architecturally interesting to look at! This is the C & J Mauran Company Warehouse at 369 South Main Street in Providence’s East Side neighborhood. The building was constructed around 1820 for brothers, Carlo (1779-1844) and Joshua Mauran (1782-1847), who were wealthy merchants who stored goods from their ships trading in the Indies here. Before all of this, the site was home to an earlier structure from the 1770s, built by Deacon Joseph Sheldon, and the site was occupied by a warehouse, later owned by his son, Christopher Sheldon, and was known as the “Slave Pen” for its use of holding and transporting enslaved people. The “slave pen” burned in 1801 and the structure was later rebuilt by the Earle Brothers, and then again (the current structure) by Carlo and Joshua Mauran. Later in the 19th century, a brick façade and storefront were added to the building as the street shifted firmly to commercial uses, with noxious industrial buildings moving further to the periphery of the established College Hill neighborhood. From 1856 to 1939, the Ferry Coal Yard Company and the National Coal Company stored coal in the building After WWII, the City of Providence took the building and adjacent block by eminent domain to make way for urban renewal, and luckily for us, the building was rehabilitated rather than demolished at this time. The structure was converted to office use, and was again restored in the 2010s by Newport Collaborative Architects.

Tillinghast House // c.1800

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The Tillinghast House at 10 James Street in Providence, Rhode Island, was built around 1800 by Captain Joseph Tillinghast (1734-1816), and it was occupied by a number of his children in the early 19th century. By 1818, with Joseph already deceased, the Federal style home was owned by two of his daughters, Mary, and Amey Tillinghast, who operated a small store from the basement. The two-and-a-half-story, brick Federal house is set on a high basement all with brownstone trim at the stringcourse (between first and second stories) and at the entrance. The house was restored in the late 1970s, along with a new clapboard addition by designers, Luigi Bianco and Georgia Patterson Boomer, of Bianco/Boomer. Without nearly as much ornate detail as many other Federal style homes in the East Side area of Providence, this residence proves that high-quality materials and strong proportions can make a home truly stand out!

Bayard Ewing Building // 1848

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Located on South Main Street in Providence, this large Greek Revival style commercial building, with its gable pediment facing the street was built in 1848 by the Fall River Ironworks Company.The company was founded in Fall River, Massachusetts (then partly located within Rhode Island) in 1822 to manufacture nails. The company owned and occupied this building from its construction until 1881, when it was occupied by the Rumford Chemical Works, founded by Eben Horsford as a manufacturer of baking powder, with this building serving as its main office. In 1927, the Phillips Lead Company, a plumbing supply house, purchased the property and continued to use it until 1973, when it was acquired via taking as part of an Urban Renewal plan for the area. Luckily, the building was deemed significant, and preserved following its purchase by the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) and converted to classroom and studio spaces in 1978 for several of the school’s departments. The restoration and adaptive reuse was overseen by local architect Irving B. Haynes. The building, now known as the Bayard Ewing Building, is one of the earliest such examples of adaptive reuse in Providence and showcases that old buildings can be repurposed for new ideas and uses. 

William Smith House // c.1826

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The William Smith House at 18 James Street in the Fox Point neighborhood of Providence’s East Side, is similar to its neighbor, the William Woodward House in style and design details. Smith, a carpenter by trade, possibly built this house himself, with inspiration or plans by local architect, John Holden Greene, who designed many similar homes in the city around this time. The residence was built around 1826 and it was built into the steeply sloping hill on its raised granite foundation. Besides its elegant proportions, the house features a shallow hipped roof with monitor, fanlight over the door, and brownstone sills and lintels.

Walker – Russell House // 1797

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In 1797, housewright Calvin Walker acquired a house lot on Transit Street in Providence’s Fox Point/East Side neighborhood and built this Federal period residence for his family. The three-bay Federal style home was a side-hall form with off-center entry and a monitor roof. In 1824, Calvin sold the residence to his daughter, Mary and her husband, Daniel Russell, a grocer and shoemaker, for $250. By the 20th century, the house was altered with later siding and a new entry, which were later restored by later owners, back to the home’s original grandeur. The blind fan with engaged columns adorned by rounded capitals, really enhances the design. The Walker-Russell House remains as an excellent example of a Federal style residence in Providence built for middle-class residents. 

Cheapside Block // 1880

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The Cheapside Block on N. Main Street in the East Side district of Providence, Rhode Island, is significant as a remaining Victorian-era commercial block that retains much of its original architectural detailing. Built in 1880 and designed by local architects Stone & Carpenter, the Cheapside Block was named after the early nineteenth century name given to the commercial district running along the west side of Main Street, north from the eighteenth century Market House, after the London commercial district of the same name. The word “cheapside” is derived from the Anglo-Saxon word “to barter.” The block here is an excellent example of the High Victorian Gothic architecture style, with intricate brick and stonework, pointed gables with inlaid tile, quatrefoil motif in the parapet, and the original cast iron storefronts. The building was acquired by the Rhode Island School of Design and renovated in the 1980s. Today, the Cheapside Block is home to the RISD Design Center. 

First Baptist Church, Providence // 1774

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The First Baptist Church of Providence, also known as the First Baptist Church in America is the oldest Baptist church in the United States. The Church was founded in 1638 by Roger Williams, who before building this church in 1774, often met in private residences or in more plain meetinghouses to not show vanity. By the early 1770s, a new building for Providence Baptists was needed, and it was conceived in a very large (and ornate) way. Built to accommodate over 1,200 people (just under a third of the entire population of Providence at that time), this church was built “for the publick Worship of Almighty God; and also for holding Commencement”, referring to the commencement ceremonies of Rhode Island College (later Brown University), also founded under Baptist auspices. The church was designed by local amateur architect, Joseph Brown, who was likely inspired by Sir Christopher Wren’s London churches in James Gibbs’s Book of Architecture (1728). The construction was greatly aided by the fact that the British had closed the port of Boston as punishment for the Boston Tea Party. Many shipwrights and carpenters were thrown out of work and came to Providence to build the meetinghouse there. The structure was dedicated in May 1775, and the 185-foot steeple was added shortly thereafter. This was the first Baptist meetinghouse in New England to have a steeple, and it has survived dozens of hurricanes and hundreds of years of change since. The church is a National Historic Landmark and remains as one of the most significant buildings in New England.

Joseph Brown House // 1774

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Constructed in 1774 by architect Joseph Brown (1733-1785) of the Brown family of Rhode Island as his personal residence, the John Brown House of Providence, stands as one of the oldest (if not the oldest) house built by an American architect for his own use. Joseph Brown, while a member of the Brown Family, was not as much in the shipping business as others in his family, instead turning his attention to scientific matters, becoming an expert in astronomy, electrification, and architecture. He was an architect in the Thomas Jefferson-gentleman mode, owning English architectural books from which he selected motifs for inclusion in his designs. It is believed that the eccentric curved ogee gable that caps the façade was adapted from the roof design of a garden house published in William Salman’s Palladio Londinensis, owned by Joseph Brown’s builder, Martin Seamans. The same ogee gable was later replicated in the Colonial Revival period in Providence. The residence’s entrance was originally raised above ground and accessed via symmetrical flights of stairs; in the late 18th century, the entrance was moved to street level in the brownstone basement level. Over a decade after Joseph’s death in 1785, the structure was acquired by the Providence Bank, an enterprise founded by Brown’s brothers John and Moses, and used as an office. The bank occupied the structure until 1929, and the Joseph Brown House was subsequently owned by the Counting House Corporation, and still appears to be owned by descendants of the Brown Family.

Providence Market Hall // 1773

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Located in Market Square between Downtown and College Hill in Providence, Rhode Island, the old Colonial Market House stands as one of the city’s oldest and most architecturally significant buildings. Constructed between 1773-1775, this Georgian-style structure originally served as a public market and meeting space. The building was originally two stories in height with an open arcade on the first story, it was used by vendors below and town officials above. The building was expanded in 1797 with a third floor, which housed the first Masonic Lodge in Rhode Island. The Market Hall was designed by local businessman, astronomer, and architect, Joseph Brown, who was also a brother of the founders and namesake of Brown University. Over the centuries, the Market House has played many civic roles. During the Revolutionary War, it was used for military purposes, and later became a hub of commercial and political activity in the growing city. It housed Providence’s first post office, and housed the Providence City Council in the decades before the completion of City Hall. In 1948, Mayor Dennis J. Roberts signed a deed to give the building to the Rhode Island School of Design, with the provision that the exterior of the building be maintained, an early preservation win! Architect John Hutchins Cady was hired to remodel the interior with classrooms and studios, and the Market House remains as a significant piece of the RISD campus. Its enduring presence on Market Square connects modern Providence to its colonial roots, embodying a rich legacy of adaptive reuse and historic preservation.