The College Hill Historic District is located in the
College Hill neighborhood of
Providence,
Rhode Island
Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...
. It was designated a
National Historic Landmark District
A National Historic Landmark District (NHLD) is a geographical area that has received recognition from the United States Government that the buildings, landscapes, cultural features and archaeological resources within it are of the highest signific ...
on December 30, 1970. The College Hill local historic district, established in 1960 (and expanded in 1990), partially overlaps the national landmark district. Properties within the local historic district are regulated by the city's historic district zoning ordinance, and cannot be altered without approval from the Providence Historic District Commission.
History
The area marks the original settlement of
Roger Williams
Roger Williams (March 1683) was an English-born New England minister, theologian, author, and founder of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Pl ...
in 1636 on the banks of the
Providence River after he was banished from Massachusetts. Williams' original homestead site is located near
Roger Williams National Memorial
The Roger Williams National Memorial is a landscaped urban park located on a common lot of the original settlement of Providence, Rhode Island, established by minister Roger Williams in 1636. The national memorial commemorates the life of Willi ...
, a small park near the river. Many of the street names mark the location of the original strips of farmland owned by the earliest settlers, such as
Wickenden Street, Arnold Street, and Angell Street. Many
Victorian and
American colonial houses such as the
Stephen Hopkins House remain in the area.
Brown University
Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...
,
Moses Brown School,
Wheeler School, and 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 th ...
are atop the hill, giving it its name.
[ With ] Thayer Street is a popular destination nearby with coffee shops, galleries, stores, and restaurants. Many churches are also in the area including Roger Williams'
First Baptist Church in America and
Central Congregational Church. The Hill district is transected by Benefit Street which was built as a "benefit" to the community and stretched perpendicularly crossing the original homestead strips. The
Old State House and
Providence Athenaeum, the fourth oldest library in America are located in the district.
Designation
The National Historic District was designated in 1960 following a detailed inventory of the area which identified 348 structures in the district as
contributing properties. The district was expanded 1977 and 1990 to approximately 945 properties largely from the 18th and 19th centuries.
The effort to establish the district were spearheaded by
Antoinette Downing and
John Nicholas Brown II.
See also
*
College Hill, Providence, Rhode Island
College Hill is a historic neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island, and one of six neighborhoods comprising the city's East Side, Providence, Rhode Island, East Side. It is roughly bounded by South and North Main Street to the west, Power Stree ...
, a neighborhood of Providence
*
List of National Historic Landmarks in Rhode Island
*
References
External links
Providence Planning Info and Map of the Area*
*
{{National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island, state=collapsed
National Historic Landmarks in Rhode Island
Geography of Providence, Rhode Island
History of Providence, Rhode Island
Historic districts in Providence County, Rhode Island
Historic American Buildings Survey in Rhode Island
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island
National Register of Historic Places in Providence, Rhode Island