The Market House is a historic three-story brick market house in
Market Square
The market square (or sometimes, the market place) is a square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world.College Hill, a neighborhood of
Providence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts ...
, USA. The building was constructed between 1773 and 1775 and designed by prominent local architects, Joseph Brown and
Declaration of Independence
A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of th ...
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
Faneuil Hall ( or ; previously ) is a marketplace and meeting hall located near the waterfront and today's Government Center, in Boston, Massachusetts. Opened in 1742, it was the site of several speeches by Samuel Adams, James Otis, and others ...
in Boston and the Old Brick Market in Newport. The building housed the
Providence City Council
The Providence City Council is the fifteen-member legislative body of the city of Providence, Rhode Island. The two major responsibilities of the council are enacting ordinances necessary to ensure the welfare and good order of the city and ad ...
in the decades before the completion of
City Hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
.
Architecture
The primary architect for the Market House was Joseph Brown, then the foremost architect of the city. Brown's previous commissioned work included University Hall at
Brown University
Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...
and the First Baptist Meeting House. Brown was assisted in the design process by Stephen Hopkins.
The building was originally two stories in height, topped by a low
gable roof
A gable roof is a roof consisting of two sections whose upper horizontal edges meet to form its ridge. The most common roof shape in cold or temperate climates, it is constructed of rafters, roof trusses or purlins. The pitch of a gable roof ...
. In 1797, a third floor was added to the house, which housed the first
Masonic Lodge
A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...
in Rhode Island. At this time, a wooden
balustrade
A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its c ...
was added to the roof of the building. The east gable features a large bull's-eye window, while the west gable features a clock, installed in the 20th century.
With the exception of the building's eastern end, the first floor of is surrounded on all sides by a series of large round arches that originally formed an
arcade
Arcade most often refers to:
* Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine
** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware
** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board
* Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games
* ...
. In the 19th century, the arcade was closed off with the installation of windows.
In 1833, architect James C. Bucklin designed a two-story addition on the east end of the building. This addition provided an entrance to the third story Masonic hall.
History
In August 1771, a petition signed by a number of townspeople was presented to the
General Assembly
A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company.
Specific examples of general assembly include:
Churches
* General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of pres ...
, asking for a market house. The General Assembly raised funds through a lottery to erect a building in a location proposed by
David Bucklin
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
. Excavations on Market House began on May 25, 1773 and were completed in 1775.
Almost immediately, Market House became the center of civic life in Providence, Rhode Island, due to its central location at the east end of the Weybosset Bridge. On March 2, 1775, residents gathered there to show their resistance to British taxation by burning British tea.
During the
American Revolution
The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revoluti ...
, the buildings were used as barracks for French soldiers encamped in Providence.
The building's third floor housed the first
Masonic Lodge
A Masonic lodge, often termed a private lodge or constituent lodge, is the basic organisational unit of Freemasonry. It is also commonly used as a term for a building in which such a unit meets. Every new lodge must be warranted or chartered ...
in Rhode Island.
Thomas Smith Webb
Thomas Smith Webb (October 30, 1771July 6, 1819) was the author of ''Freemason’s Monitor or Illustrations of Masonry'', a book which had a significant impact on the development of Masonic Ritual in America, and especially that of the York Rite. ...
was a member of the lodge, and in 1802 Webb organized St. John's Encampment Number One, which was the first Knights Templar organization in America.
In 1832, Providence Mayor Samuel W. Bridgham moved Providence City Council to meet in Market House. At first, the City Council, Mayor's Office, and Board of Aldermen were located on the second floor. As the city grew, the city government purchased the third floor from the Masons, and eventually occupied the entire building, which was then renamed the "City Building." By 1845 the city government outgrew the building and drew up plans to build a new City Hall. By 1878 the new City Hall was completed and the city vacated Market House.
In the years after the city left the building, tenants included the Providence Board of Trade (later known as the
Chamber of Commerce
A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ...
), the
Henry Lippitt
Henry Lippitt (October 9, 1818 – June 5, 1891) was the 33rd Governor of Rhode Island from 1875 to 1877.
Family
Lippitt was the son of Warren Lippitt and Eliza (Seamans) Lippitt, married to Mary Ann Balch. Lippitt was the father of Charles Wa ...
Company, several manufacturing companies, a barber, the Rhode Island Poultry Association, and the Rhode Island Electric Light Company. Market Square and Westminster Street were the first parts of Providence to receive electric street lights.
The building underwent some restoration work in the 1930s, and by 1940 the building was restored to its 1833 appearance. In 1948, Mayor Dennis J. Roberts signed a deed to give the building to the
Rhode Island School of Design
The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase the ...
, with the provision that the exterior of the building be maintained. Architect
John Hutchins Cady
John Hutchins Cady (January 17, 1881 – September 27, 1967) was an American architect, architectural historian, author, and historical preservationist in Rhode Island.
Biography
Cady was born January 17, 1881, in Providence, Rhode Island. ...
was hired to remodel the interior with classrooms and studios.
A pair of plaques on the exterior wall marks the highest water levels reached during the Great Storm of 1815 and the
Hurricane of 1938
The 1938 New England Hurricane (also referred to as the Great New England Hurricane and the Long Island Express Hurricane) was one of the deadliest and most destructive tropical cyclones to strike Long Island, New York, and New England. The st ...
.
The building was added to the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...
in 1972.
Gallery
File:Market House, between 1857-1867.jpg, Market House, c. 1860
File:Ye Olde Markitt Housse.jpg, A drawing of the building published in 1915
File:Board of Trade Building.jpg, The structure in 1898, when it served as the Board of Trade Building
File:Market House, eastern facade.jpg, View of the building's eastern facade,
Downtown Providence
Downtown is the central economic, political, and cultural district of the city of Providence, Rhode Island. It is bounded on the east by Canal Street and the Providence River, to the north by Smith Street, to the west by Interstate 95, and to th ...
is visible in the background
File:Market House, northern facade.jpg, The building's northern facade
File:Market Square and river 2.jpg, The building's western facade from across the
Providence River
The Providence River is a tidal river in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows approximately 8 miles (13 km). There are no dams along the river's length, although the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier is located south of downtown to protect t ...
See also
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Providence, Rhode Island
__NOTOC__
This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Providence, Rhode Island.
This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Providence, Rhode Is ...
Providence
Providence often refers to:
* Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion
* Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity
* Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...