Sixth District Court House (Old State House) | |
Location | 150 Benefit St., Providence, Rhode Island |
---|---|
Coordinates | 41°49′44″N71°24′34″W / 41.82889°N 71.40944°W |
Built | 1762 |
Architectural style | Georgian architecture |
Part of | College Hill Historic District (ID70000019) |
NRHP reference No. | 70000092 [1] |
Significant dates | |
Added to NRHP | April 28, 1970 |
Designated NHLDCP | November 10, 1970 |
The Old State House on College Hill in Providence, Rhode Island, also known as Providence Sixth District Court House,Providence Colony House, Providence County House, and Rhode Island State House is located on 150 Benefit Street, with the front facade facing North Main Street. It is a brick Georgian-style building largely completed in 1762. It was used as the meeting place for the colonial and state legislatures for 149 years.
On May 4, 1776, meeting in the building, the General Assembly declared its independence, renouncing its allegiance to the British crown, [2] and the date is now celebrated as Rhode Island Independence Day. Debates about slavery occurred in the building in the late 18th century. George Washington visited the building in 1781 and 1790. Other visitors to the building in the 18th and 19th centuries included Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony.
From colonial times to the mid-19th century, the Rhode Island General Assembly rotated meetings between the state's five county court houses; five of these former Rhode Island state houses survive today. In 1730, a statehouse known as the Providence Colony House or County House was built on Meeting Street on the site now occupied by the Brick Schoolhouse. The wooden building burned down in December 1758. [3] [2]
In 1760 The General Assembly constructed the current building as the new Providence Colony House, on a site which overlooked The Parade, the location of ceremonial processions. The new building, which was smaller than the building is now, was based on the Colony House in Newport, Rhode Island, which was the first Colony House built, and served as a model for others. [2]
The building was constructed of Flemish bond brick with rusticated brownstone quoins and wooden trim. It was largely finished by 1762 with some details being completed as late as 1771. Many of the Georgian details were borrowed from the larger and more ornate Newport Colony House. The building's interior, specifically, resembled the Newport building, following the traditional layout of English town halls. [3] Prior to 19th century alterations to the Providence State House, the two buildings greatly resembled one another
After 1853 the state legislature ceased meeting at Kent, Washington and Bristol county courthouses, but continued to alternate its sessions between the Colony Houses in Providence and Newport into the early 20th century.[ citation needed ]
The building was extensively renovated and dramatically altered several times in the 19th century.
In 1840, the building was remodeled by Rhode Island architect, Russell Warren. This renovation involved the replacement of original windows with sash windows and the rearragement of portions of the interior. [4] [3]
It was again altered in 1850, when Thomas A. Tefft of Tallman & Bucklin added the large tower facing Main Street, and a reorganization of nearly the entire interior. In 1867 James C. Bucklin designed an addition on Benefit Street that nearly doubled the size of the building. Both of these additions were sympathetic to the building's original design. [5] The building was refurbished in 1877–1883, to designs by Stone & Carpenter. [4]
The building served as the legislature's meeting place until 1901, when the new Rhode Island State House began being occupied. The building was completely finished in 1904, and it was decided to use the old building as a courthouse. Major internal alterations by Banning & Thornton were completed in 1906, and the building re-opened as the Sixth District Courthouse. [6]
By 1901 the new Rhode Island State House was occupied on Smith Hill and the legislature vacated the Old State House, although it remained in use as a Court House until 1975.
In 1970 the building was added to the National Register of Historic Places; the following year the building was listed a contributing structure to the College Hill Historic District.
Since 1975, the building has been home to the Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission, which oversees it maintenance and renovation. [2] In 2020, the building underwent a renovation and restoration effort. [7]
An open space hall for public meeting was located on the main floor and later became a courtroom. [8]
On the second floor was the House of Representatives and Senate chambers. Additional space was create for the governor's and secretary of state's offices. [8] Today, the former Council Chamber is the only room to retain its original furnishings. [3] As a result of the various expansions and renovations, the only room in the building which is largely original is the office of the secretary of state on the second floor. [2]
Newport is a seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Rhode Island, United States. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately 33 miles (53 km) southeast of Providence, 20 miles (32 km) south of Fall River, Massachusetts, 74 miles (119 km) south of Boston, and 180 miles (290 km) northeast of New York City. It is known as a New England summer resort and is famous for its historic mansions and its rich sailing history. The city has a population of about 25,000 residents.
Malbone is one of the oldest mansions in Newport, Rhode Island. The original mid-18th century estate was the country residence of Col. Godfrey Malbone of Virginia and Connecticut. The main house burned down during a dinner party in 1766 and the remaining structure sat dormant for many years until New York lawyer Jonathan Prescott Hall built a new roughly 5,800 sq ft (540 m2) castellated residence directly on top of the old ivy-covered ruins.
Hunter House (1748) is a historic house in Newport, Rhode Island. It is located at 54 Washington Street in the Easton's Point neighborhood, near the northern end of the Newport Historic District.
College Hill is a historic neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island, and one of six neighborhoods comprising the city's East Side. It is roughly bounded by South and North Main Street to the west, Power Street to the south, Governor Street and Arlington Avenue to the east and Olney Street to the north. The neighborhood's primary commercial area extends along Thayer Street, a strip frequented by students in the Providence area.
The Beneficent Congregational Church is a United Church of Christ Congregationalist church located at 300 Weybosset Street in downtown Providence, Rhode Island.
Russell Warren (1783–1860) was an American architect, best known for his work in the Greek Revival style. He practiced in Bristol and Providence.
The Old Colony House, also known as Old State House or Newport Colony House, is located at the east end of Washington Square in the city of Newport, Rhode Island, United States. It is a brick Georgian-style building completed in 1741, and was the meeting place for the colonial legislature. From independence in 1776 to the early 20th century, the state legislature alternated its sessions between here and the Rhode Island State House in Providence.
The Newport Historic District is a historic district that covers 250 acres in the center of Newport in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It was designated a National Historic Landmark (NHL) in 1968 due to its extensive and well-preserved assortment of intact colonial buildings dating from the early and mid-18th century. Six of those buildings are themselves NHLs in their own right, including the city's oldest house and the former meeting place of the colonial and state legislatures. Newer and modern buildings coexist with the historic structures.
The Brick Schoolhouse is a historic colonial school building at 24 Meeting Street in the College Hill neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island. The structure is noted as the home of one of the first free schools in the United States and the first brick schoolhouse in the city of Providence. In 1828, the schoolhouse became the first public school to be open to African American children. Since the 1960s, the Providence Preservation Society has leased the structure from the city for use as a meeting hall.
The Market House is a historic three-story brick market house in Market Square, in the College Hill, a neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island, USA. The building was constructed between 1773 and 1775 and designed by prominent local architects, Joseph Brown and Declaration of Independence signer Stephen Hopkins. The bottom floor of the house was used as a market, and the upper level was used for holding meetings. Similar buildings existed in other American cities, such as Faneuil Hall in Boston and the Old Brick Market in Newport. The building housed the Providence City Council in the decades before the completion of City Hall.
Shakespeare Hall is an historic commercial building at 128 Dorrance Street in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. It is a six-story masonry structure, originally built as a three-story Greek Revival structure in 1838 to a design by Tallman & Bucklin. Its main facade has retained the massive granite pilasters and five-bay configuration from this period. Originally built to house a theater, the building suffered a massive fire in 1844, leaving only its exterior shell standing. It was afterward rebuilt to its present height, and a separate brick building at its rear was incorporated into its structure in the late 19th century. It was used as a warehouse in the 1860s, and has also housed light industrial operations. Today, the building is used largely for law office space.
The State Arsenal, originally the Providence Marine Corps of Artillery Arsenal, and commonly called the Benefit Street Arsenal is a historic armory building located at 176 Benefit Street in the College Hill neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island. It was built in 1839, was designed by Russell Warren in the Gothic Revival style, and was built by Tallman & Bucklin.
The Kent County Courthouse, now the East Greenwich Town Hall, is a historic court building at 127 Main Street in East Greenwich, Rhode Island.
The Bristol County Courthouse is an historic courthouse on High Street in Bristol, Rhode Island, USA built in 1816. It was originally one of five locations in Rhode Island which hosted the state legislature on a rotating basis, and served as the county courthouse through the 1980s. Currently the building is used for educational and community programs, meetings, and events.
Washington Square is the geographical and historical heart of Newport Rhode Island. More trapezoid than square, it exists at the intersection of several major streets and what was the colonial long wharf, projecting into the harbor off Aquidneck Island and into Narragansett Bay. Although as a civic space it is colonial in origin, dating back to the first settlement of 1639, much of its present shape, form and name dates from the 19th century while a number of its most prominent buildings are of early 20th century design. Like many civic spaces, it developed over time rather than being imposed by design.
John Holden Greene (1777-1850) was a noted early nineteenth century architect practicing in Providence, Rhode Island. The bulk of his work dates to the late Federal period, and is mostly in the architectural style of the same name. Greene is responsible for the design of over fifty buildings built in the city between 1806 and 1830, almost half of which are still standing.
The Gately Building is a historic commercial building at 337–353 Main Street in downtown Pawtucket, Rhode Island The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012. In 2015, the property was renovated into a 13-unit apartment building.
Timeline of Newport, Rhode Island.
Antoinette Forrester Downing was an American architectural historian and preservationist who wrote the standard reference work on historical houses in Rhode Island. She is credited with spearheading a movement that saved many of Providence's historic buildings from demolition in the mid 20th century and for her leadership was inducted into the Rhode Island Heritage Hall of Fame in 1978.
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