The only one-story temple front home in Warren, RI I could find is on Washington Street. The home was built around 1840 for John Rodgers Hoar (1816-1891). John married Sarah Boyce Haskell in 1839 and they likely were gifted the home from a relative. The tetrastyle Doric home has flushboard siding, a decorative balustrade at the front and side terrace, and a gorgeous arched window in the pediment.
This stately Federal house was built in 1823 for Rudolphus B. Johnson, a merchant, whaler and owner of a local wharf in town. The two and a half story house with five bay facade is framed with quoins and topped with a hipped roof and monitor. The center entry is elaborate with an elliptical blind fan above the door, fluted pilaster strips and a prominent lintel shelf.
St. Mark’s Church in Warren, RI was architect Russell Warren’s second essay in the Greek Revival style, following Providence’s Westminster Arcade he designed earlier that year. The congregation originally met in a local hotel before they gathered enough money to purchase a lot in town and hire Mr. Warren to design the modest church.The modest one-story church originally was designed with a square parapet and belfry, but they were destroyed during the Great New England Hurricane of 1938. The church building on Lyndon Street was occupied by the parish until 2010 when they merged with the Episcopal Church in nearby Barrington, St. Matthews. The property was later purchased by developers from the Archdiocese of Rhode Island in 2013 who eyed the large lot as an investment. The developers claimed that the front portico had no function and would be demolished and the remainder of the building would be altered. Past partitioners and local preservationists stood up and the building was purchased again by a local businessman who restored the exterior and appropriately renovated the former church. The smooth flushboard siding, paired entrances, tetrastyle ionic portico, and large arched windows all work together to create a gorgeous composition of the Greek Revival style.
One of the most charming homes in Warren is the Captain Cranston House, built in 1783. Captain Benjamin Cranston (1754-1823) served on multiple ships during the Revolutionary War and lived in his family home until after the conclusion of the War. He built this small gambrel home around 1783, the same year as his son was born. The family home was occupied by the Cranston’s until Mary, Benjamin’s widow died in the house in 1848 at the age of 92! The house is a modest three-bay home with an off-center chimney.
The Hoar House in Warren, RI was built around 1794 by and for John Hoar, a carpenter and block maker (which from my limited understanding and research of maritime terminology, is a pulley for the ropes attached to sails). Hoar likely built this home for his family on Water Street, which was probably close to his carpentry shop on the harbor. The two-story Georgian style home sits upon a raised rubblestone foundation to protect against rising seas during storms. The large central chimney, Georgian style entry with transomed pediment and fluted pilasters, and splayed lintels over the first floor windows add a lot to the home.
Located on Lyndon Street in Warren, this gambrel roofed Georgian home contributes to the large collection of pre-Revolutionary homes in the neighborhood. Built around 1751, the home later was occupied by Governor Josias Lyndon (1704-1778) as his refuge. Lyndon grew up in Newport and spend most of his career as the Clerk of the Assembly. After nearly four decades of working as a Clerk, Lyndon was elected as Governor for a one-year term. Most of Lyndon’s year (1767-1768) as governor was spent in correspondence with a representative of the King of England, expressing concerns of the colony over the unjust taxation brought about by the Stamp Act. Lyndon had at least one slave, Cesar Lyndon, who apparently assisted with many business dealings as Governor Lyndon had no children. During his time as a slave, Cesar wrote a diary, which is believed to be the only slave diary that exists to this day. When the British forces invaded the Colonies and occupied Newport, Lyndon fled to Warren, where he resided until his death in 1778 from a smallpox outbreak. The home eventually became the rectory of the nearby St. Mark’s Church.
The grand Town Hall building in Warren, Rhode Island was built in 1890 by designs from Providence architectural firm of William R. Walker & Son. William Russell Walker (1830-1905) was one of the most prominent – if not the most prominent – architect in the cities and towns around Providence in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Walker established himself as an architect after the Civil War, where he designed many mills, large homes and commercial buildings all over the region.
Warren Town Hall is in the idiosyncratic Walker mélange of Romanesque Revival, Queen Anne, and Colonial Revival styles he repeated across the state for the many public building commissions the firm designed for several decades around the turn of the 20th century. The building was basically untouched until the Great New England Hurricane of 1938, when winds damaged the tower, causing it to be slightly reduced in height and design. The amazing blending of styles and materials including: brick, granite and terra cotta together work to make the eclectic building one of the finest in town.
Buildings of New England 