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A Celebration of History

The Festival of Historic Houses shows modern living in historic homes

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Providence is home to one of the highest concentrations of historic buildings, places and residencies in the U.S. As one of early America’s port cities, the urban landscape continued to take shape through the influence of maritime commerce, resulting in an assemblage of historical architecture seldom seen in cities its size. An afternoon stroll through many of Providence’s neighborhoods is a feast for the eye: facades lining the streets are layered with Colonial revival houses, renovated mills and 18th century churches. Yet the pleasure of living in and amongst these places is not available to us by mistake – the struggle to keep them intact and unharmed by urban renewal projects has been ongoing since the Industrial Revolution. If it weren’t for dedicated non-profit organizations like the Providence Preservation Society (PPS), these centuries-old buildings and cornerstones to the city’s character may have been lost. Since 1956, PPS has advocated for preserving Providence’s historic sites through educational programs and thoughtful urban planning.

On Saturday, June 13, PPS will be throwing its annual Festival of Historic Houses, a self-guided walking tour with intimate, first-hand views on how historical properties have been adapted into modern living spaces. “In 1958, when most cities were tearing down their best neighborhoods for new highways or urban renewal projects, PPS created the Festival of Historic Houses to encourage people to restore Providence,” says Brent Runyon, Executive Director of PPS. “This accords our festival the status as one of the oldest house tours in the country.”

This year the festival will be showcasing houses in the Fox Point neighborhood of Providence’s East Side, including the southern portion of Benefit Street. To walk along these streets today often feels like entering a living museum, with early-American houses perfectly maintained and frozen in time, but it wasn’t always this way: “At the time [the festival began], Benefit Street was well-known as a blighted area,” Runyon says. “The PPS Festival highlighted the incredible architecture and history of the area, and proved to visitors the potential of these old houses to accommodate contemporary lifestyles, a perspective we very much hold today.” The Fox Point neighborhood, Runyon explains, was originally associated with Providence’s maritime industry and, consequently, was home to some of the most affluent and influential families in American politics and industry. The Scottish Coats family, who created an empire built on the innovation of cotton thread over linen, owned a house here, and the Governor T.F. Green House was the location where the “Bloodless Revolution” was planned, leading to the rise of the Democratic Party in Rhode Island.

The self-guided tour will include over a dozen houses and gardens throughout Fox Point and southern Benefit Street, all of which will be open from 10am to 4pm. Attendees will witness a wide range of architectural influences such as Greek revival, Victorian design, 18th century features and trim and colonial revival. In addition to the self-guided house tours, the Festival will also be providing guided neighborhood tours at no charge. Attendees will explore how the profile of Fox Point has changed over the years through the influence of maritime trade, farming and immigration. The Festival will begin with a Preview Party on Friday, June 12, at the Ward-Perry House on George Street. Tickets for both the preview party and self-guided tour can be purchased online. This event will be held rain or shine.

Festival of Historic Houses

$35-50
21 Meeting Street, Providence
831-7440  

festival of historic houses, brent runyon, providence preservation society, east side monthly, nicolas staab, fox point,

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