Iff’TIT N...financial institutions, insurance companies, law offices, real estate brokers and...

UNITEDSTATESDEPAR1ME,TOF THE INIERIOR- NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACESINVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM

Typea!! entries - complete applicab!e sections

NSTATE:

Rhode IslandCOUNTY .

Providence -

FOR NPS USE ONLYENTRY DATE

UL-*COMMON:

Custom House Historic DistrictANOoR NISTORIc: - -

fiTLOCATIONSTREET AND NUIASER:

See Continuation Sheet 1.CITY OR TOWN CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT:

Providence Edward Beard - 2STATE

- I COTtOUNTY

Rhode Island ProvidencecLAsslFlcAN - -

CATEGORY OWNERSHIP STATUSACCESSIBLE

Check One 10 THE PUBLIC

[Zl District E Building Li PUbJ ubJic Acquisition: Occupied let:

Li Site Li Structure Li Private Li In Process Li Unoccupied Li rat

LI Object Both LJ -Being Considered j Pie ser ration work 2 Unrestricted

- in progress Li No

PRESENT USC Chec Is One or More as A ‘propriete

[ Agricultural jg Government Li Pork Li 1 runsporrol ion Li c OlnOTe n’s

jTJ Comrnc rcio I- [j nd u sir al Li Pr ivole Residence Li Other Specify

[3 Edvcotiorsol Li tAililory Li Rrligiou; -

[1 Entirsoinment Li .lu:eurn Li Scirrltific

F& OWNER OFPROPERTY

___ ___

OñNCri*s IJAtAL:

Various multipleS-IrTEE,ArIn.NLIMBE,4: - -________

I

TT°li

_____Iff’TIT__ ___

ftJOCATION OF LEGAL DESCRIPTION -

-. COURnIOUSE. RcG15114v OF DEEDS CICt I_S

Providence City Hail-lSTREET AND NUMBER:

Dorrance and Washinqton StreetsCITY OR TOY.N:

ProvidenceCODE:

_L0d I sland_ H*?5fTATIPN IN EXIST NO SURVEYS

_SITLE or Surly El:

-Interfadc - Rhode Isftnd Historical Preservation Commission_SurveyLATC or SuRVEY: in prc:qrcss - Li Federal L3 Slate Li County f LocalDE:P0SITORr FOR SURVEY ISECORDS

55 lICE T AND NL514j3LP:

Rhode Island Historical Preservation Commission

F

-41_

zC

F0

- 52 Power StreetCITY OR TOe,IJ:

ProvidenceST A C:

Rhode Island

Fain. 10-300

P.’. 6-17

In

0

I

LI

rx

I-n

-r

wwIn

C IC C

‘I ‘4I_I

-I.F

- L -DESCRIPTION- - . . - Check One

- 0 E,rcellent [j Good Fair [3 Deteriorated Li Ruins Li unexposedCONDITION -- .

- Altered

Check One

1vedOriginolSi7

DESCRIBE THE PRESENT ANO ORIGINAL If known PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

- Eight compactly:grouped late nineteenth and early twentieth centuryoffice buildings along Weybosset and Custom House- Streets in downtownProvidence form the- nucleus of the Custom House Historic District.

- The Custom House #1 on the site plan designed by Arnmi B. Young anderected in 1857, a severe grey granite Renaissance Revival style structure,is the focal point of this core area. It is already on the NationalRegister. The bounds of the district encompass eight buildings and -

six parking areas adjacent to the core area, protecting that core areaand bringing within the district several noteworthy buildings seesite plan. Thus, the Custom House Historic District incorporates thecitys most famouscommerciál building, the Greek Revival style Arcadeof 1828 #2,and also on the Register. - -

Due to the irregular Street pattern of the area, the arrahgement - - I-n

of the buildings within the proposed district is exciting. They form .1terminal elements at- the end of narrow side streets and are broughtinto ever-changing view as one walks along the curving east end ofWeybosset Street. The-Turks Head Building #9 functions as both aterminal and transitional element -- closing a vista and, by itscurving face, directing the eye around to new vistas down two principalthoroughfares. - - - - - - - -

- With the exception of the Arcade, the Bank of North AmericaBuilding #3, built about 1855, is the oldest building- in the pràposed C

district. It is- a narrow four story brownstone-faced brick structure ndesigned by Thomas Tefft, an important local architect. The facade,articulated -in -the manner of a Florentine Renaissance palace, originally -

had a heavily rusticated first story which contrasted with- the smoothupper stories and gave-the-building desirable mass-at the base. Abovethe ground floor, belt courses at the level of the window sills - t

punctuate the smooth surfaces; quoined corners and a heavy, modillioned U’

cornice above a frieze containing the legend tBank of North America"provide further contrast and interest. The ground floor was remodelled

- in 1906 by Frederick Field when the present iron columns and large plateglass windows were installed. The, three upper stories, although intact,.are now obscured by fire: escapes and the brownstone has been painteda buff color. Despite these alterations, the Bank of North America.Building is still an imposing structure.

The Blackstone Block #‘4-, a brick four story office building builtc.l86l, is the work of James C. Bucklin, a Providence builder-architect.Handled in a-- vernacul-ar version of the Renaissance Revival style, thedesign may have been based on a drawing by Tefft with whom Bucklin was

- closely associated. -Brownstone belt courses and rusticated window carfstrim the facade. The cornice, lighter than that of the Bank of North -

- America, has simple brackets instead of the classical modilFions of theearlier building. The ènulti-paned windows of theground floor, thoughnot oriina1 produce an effect sufficiently dense visually to avoid

- the awkward bareness of the Banks remodelled- storefront. -

See Continuation Sheet 1 -

NSiGNIFICANCE r - -

PERIOD Check One or More as Appropriate -

P.e.Colun.bian - Li 16th Century 0 18th Century U 20th Century -

Li 15th century Li 17th Century - J 19th Century

SPECI Fl C DAT EISI if Applicable end Known - -

AREAS OF SIGNIFICANCE Check One or Mote as Appropriate - - -

- Abor iginal - Li Education- Li Political -- urban Planning

Li Prehistoric 0 Engineering 0 Religion/Phi. Li Other Specify

- Historic- 0 Industry - losophy Soc il Hi story

Li Agriculture Invention Li Science - -

Architecture Li Landscape -- Sculpture -

- Q Art - - - - Architecture Socia I/Human- -

11 Commerce Li - Literoture- ilarian -

[3 Communications [3 Military Li--theater - -

- Li Conservation Li Music Li transportation -

STATEMENT OF SIGNIF!CANCE - -

- The Custom House Historic District gives witness to importantaspects of the economic, architectural and social history of Providence

vs in the late nineteenth-and early twentieth centuries.. -

- By the era of the American Revolution, Providence was becoming theeconomic hub of Rhode Island. In the late eighteenth century Ihode

- Island prosperity was based on maritime commerce. In the-nineteenthcentury, when industrialism replaced trade as the principl economic

U activity, the port of Prov-idence remained an important transportationcenter through which raw materials were brought into Rhode Island andmanufactured goods taken to out of state tharkets. The Providence

Custom House symbolizes this aspect of Providence history. AlthoughRhode Island’s nineteenth century industrial activity was distributed

I" across the countryside,. taking advantage of rural water power sites,Z

- industries -were also located in the city and control of rural industrial- activity was- centered here too ;‘ through direct ownership and by

reliance on Providence banks, insurance companies, cotton and woolbrokers, mill supply houses, law firms, and the like. Since the latter

LU half of the nineteenth century the Custom House Historic District andU’ adjacent-sections of downtown Providence have housed the state’s major

financial institutions, insurance companies, law offices, real estatebrokers and "intown" offices of outlying mills. - - -

The architecture of these buildings is closely related to economichistory in several ways. For example, increased land- costs in thedowntown area promoted.construction of taller buildings. - Technologicaladvances like the -introduction of -the passenger -elevator and steelframe construction made greatly -increased buildingheights feasible.

- The prosperity of Providence firms and individual entreperieurs per- -

- mitted them to indulge in -construction of the impressive facadearchitecture these buildings exemplify. With the exception of theBlackstone Block, the buildings forming the nucleus of the Customs HouseHistoric District are representative of the ffiost sophisticated effortsof local architects and are characteristic of work by well known Bostonand New York firms. They illustrate the transformation-from the severeRenaissance Revival style of the l850Is, through-the exuberant HighVictorian Gothic, to the classicism which typified large office buildings

See Continuation Sheet 3

Form IO.300o UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STATE -

July 1969 NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Rhode I s I andNATIONALREGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES COUNTY

- -- Providence

- INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORMNI’S USE ONLY

- - - . - - ENTRY NUMBER DATE- Continuation Sheet -

Number all entries - - - -- - -

2. Location - - - - - - -

The bounds of thedistrict are as follows: Starting at the intersectiOnof Pine and-Peck Streets, the boundary follows the midline of Peck Streetto Weybosset Street and, crossing Weybosset Street, it follows the north-west lot line of. 75 Weybosset Street and then that of the Arcade toWestminster Street; there -the boundary-turns north along the midline ofWestminster Street to Exchange Street where it runs east along the midlineof Exchange to Dyer Street; the boundary continues down Dyer Street to itsintersection with Pine Street, and follows the midline of Pine Street tothe starting point. - -

7. Description I - -

The Equi table Building built in 1872 -is one of the first examples inProvidence of the use of cast iron. The- building is attributed toWilliam R. Walker, a local architect of considerable stature. The castiron facade was manufactured by the Builder1-s Iron Foundry of Providence.

- Set at the corner of Weybosset and Custom House Streets, the building’stwo principal 4+ story elevations are joined by an angled corner bay setdiagonally to the mass of the structure and calculated to present a facadewhich is viewed frontally as one moves west along Weybosse-t Street. - Thebasement -and first story levels are articulated by enaged columns-withfoliated capitals set on high pedestals. -Large plate glass windows fillthe interstices. The upper stories of the facades are composed of doublewindows embellished with engaged colonnettes and a series of moulded andflat surfaces receding to the plane of the sash. Above each window atympanum contains trefoil panels. Bold fol iated bosses are affixed tO thepilasters between the windows. This layered articulation is both highlyplastic and light, due to the large window surfaces allowed by the use ofcast iron. Until recently-the Equitable Building1s ornamental facadeshave been subdued -by an overall coat of grey paint. Now it is- being repainted in brilliant and contrasting hues. - - -

The Wilcox Building #6, designed by Edwin 0. Howland, dates from1875. It is one of the city1s first office buildings in the polychromaticHigh Victorian Gothic style. This L--shaped structure, built around theEquitable Building, has facades on Weybosset and Custom House Streets.The brick facades are trimmed with stone and their regular fenestrationserves as a pattern from which a complex decorative scheme is elaborated.The ground floor of the Weybosset-Street elevation is arcaded; thevoussoirs of its segmental arches are alternate- blocks -of pudding stone andgrey granite. The capitals of the piers and polished granite columns are

- richly carved with foliage, flowers And birds. More abstract motifsembellish the stone belt courses and fancifully-shaped window caps of theupper stories. The Weybosset Street facade is accented by. a slightprojection of the two right hand window bays, terminated by a fake gable

- - See Continuation Sheet 2 -

- - - - - - GPO 921.724

Form lO-JOQoJuly 1969

Number all entries

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIORNATIONAL PARK 5ERVCE

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES

INVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM

Continuation Sheet - 2

STATERhode Island

COUNTY-

- Providence -

FOR NPS USE ONLY

ENTRY NUMBER - DATE

7. Description continued

rising above the otherwise flat roofline. "The Wilcox Building" is -

inscribed above the third- story windows of this- tower-like projection.

For the Custom House Street elevation a less riotous decorativescheme is carried out in tesselated brickwork, and carved stone trim.Here the store fronts are dast iron, and are well preserved. The legend"The Wilcox Building" also appears on this facade. - -

32 Custom House Street #7, a second building erected in 1875, isnow known as the Real Estate Title Insurance Building. It too is a stone

- trirwned brick building in the High Victorian Gothic style. Its orna- -

-mentation is- more architectonic than that of the Wilcox Buildi-ng, -relyingupon constrasts of material, texture, and color to create a strongly -

accented, but well integrated facade. The bronze ground floor elevation,constructed- ih the early twentieth century, is also well designed. Framedby a massive rope moulding, its multi-paned double windows form a visuallyeffective base for the masonry wall above. - - -

The Banigan Building buil.tGrosvenor and now as the AMICA Builtechnology in Providence commercialit is the first tall building in theconstruction. Designed by Winslow andits granite exterior walls attests toNorcross Brothers, and demonstrates aRenaissance models for inspiration.a foundation, the wall plane slightwatertable. The first and second sof the walls above the second- storybetween the sixth and seventh and t

ding institutes a new scale andbuildings. Ten and a half stories high,city, and is of fireproof steel frame

Bigelow of Boston, the quality ofthe craftsmanship of the contractor,return to classical precedent and

The half story basement is treated asly projected and capped with a mouldedtories are rusticated. - The smooth surf

is enlivened by moulded belt courseshe ninth and tenth stories. - A massive

Last of the buildings erected in the core area of the Custom HouseHistoric District is theser,tenteen story Turks Head Building #9 datingfrom 1913. Howells and Stokes ofNew York were responsible for its design-.The granite trimmed white brick exterior employs-the classical columnapproach -- base, shaft, capital -- to solve the problemof-articulatingthe exterior of a tall office building. - The lower three floors -- the"base" -- form a colossal blind arcade with engaged polished grani-tecolumns surmounted by a wide frieze. The fourth through twelfth storiesconstitute the "shaft" element -- its verticality emphasized by tall recessed windows. The shorter windows of the thirteenth story, linked bypaneled interspaces, and the modillioned cornice serve as the "capital."

- See Continuation Sheet 3

in 1896 #8, subsequently known as the

overhanging copper Florentine corn-ice- completesother decorative accents, it contributes to thehorizontal ity. -

ace

the exterior.Banigan Build

Like theing’s marked

GPO g21.7Z4

Form 1O.300o - uNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STATE -

July 1969 - NATIONAL PARK SERVICE -- Rhode Island

- NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES COUNTY - -

-- : - Providence -

- - INVENTORY . NOMINATION FORM- FOR NI’S USE ONLY

. . - - ENTRY NUMBER DATE- - - Continuation Sheet - 3 - - -

Number eli entries -

7. Description continued - - - -

Called the TurksHead Building for a colonial structure so-named once onthis site, the name is commemorated by a grotesque "turk’s head" in highrelief in the frieze on the rounded end of the building. - -

The district includes two other late nineteenth century officebuildings outside the core-area: 75 Weybosset Street #10, c.l865.and theHall Building- -#11, 1-876. 75 Weybosset Street is a small three storybrick building, but three window bays wide, faced with an unusually ornatepudding stone facade of vaguely Jacobean inspiration. The five story brickHall Building is less pretentious. Ornamental treatment is restricted tocontinuous bands of brownstone now painted white formed by the windowlintels. - Both buildings have obtrusive modern store fronts. Completingthe building inventory of the district are five twentieth century buildings.Three of these are stone-trimmed brick neo-Federal structures: TheProvidence National Bank Building #12, 1929/1950, now the IndustrialNational Bank Trust Department designed by Howe and church of Providence;the "Old Colony House" #13, 1927, headquarters of the- Old Colony CooperativeBank designed by Thomas .H. James of Boston; and 61 Weybosset Street#14, c.l945. At 102 Westminster Street is the Mee Hong Restaurant#15 with two story "art deco" facade and beside it, at 110 WestminsterStreet, an office of the First Federal Savings and Loan Association #16-with an all glass facadecharacteristicof the 1960’s. - -

Buildings in the Customs House Historic District are i-n good.toexcellent condition, with the exception of the- Wilcox Building, the interiorof which was seriously damaged by fire in January, 1975. Apart from some-altered store fronts, the buildings are otherwise well preserved. Allfunction essentially in the capacity for which they were intnded. -

8. Significance continued -

of the late -1890’s and early years of the- twentieth century. Together theyare the best integrated and best preserved assemblage of of-fice buildingsin the state. - - - - - -

Functionally and visually these buildings manifet Providence’s roleas the "metropolis" of Rhode Island. The sort of business Activity theyhouse, their compact siting and -scale, and their expensive exterior -

art,culation constitute the quIntessential "big city" image. Indeed,though never so tall as off ice buildings in New York or sections of Boston,structures here produce the same looming, canyon-like spacial effects.

Less obvious, but quite as significant, are phenomena of latenineteenth century social history which these buildings reflect. The WilcoxBuilding IS a product of that admixture of-egotism and- comunity -pride -

- - See Continuation Sheet 4 -

GPO 921.124

Form IO.300o - UNITED STATESDEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR - STATE -

July 1969 - NATIONAL PARK SERVICE - - Rhode Island

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES COUNTY

Providence -

INVENTORY . NOMINATION FORM- FOR NPS USE ONLY

- - . . -- ENTRY NUMBER DATE

- Continuation Sheet - 4 -

Number all entries - - - - - -

8. Significanèe continued - -- - - - -

prevalent in the "Age of Progress." Dutee Wilcox came to Providence fromMassachusetts in 1850. He -was sixteen, and set to work as- a jeweler’sapprentice. Nine years later he invented an improved shirt- stud and, witha partner, established a company to manufacture it. The firm soon did anannual business in excess of $100,000. Eventually Wilcox was sole ownerof the business. He became a man of affairs in Providence, serving as adirector of the Board of Trade and various banks,.a member of the schoolcommittee, alderman, and a promoter of the YMCA. The business block hebuilt, biazcned as -it was with the Wilcox name, was glowingly described ina biography written in i88i: - -

In 1875 Mr. Wilcox. erected one of the most magnificent andcostly business buildings in Rhode Island.;.. - It i-s a -

- building of which the citizens of Providence may justly -

-- feel proud, and fittingly represents the character, talents,

and tastes of the owner, and indicates the public spirit- and .1 iberal ity of one-who has chosen in this manner to

exhibit his deep interest in all that may improve and- adorn his adopted, city. -

The Horatio Alger syndrorneas a common- late nineteenth century socialphenomenon-is more dramatically portrayed in the history of the man whobuilt what was Rhode- Island’s largest office building: Joseph Bani-gan.Born in Ireland, his family came to the -United States during the greatmigration of 1847. At the Age of nine Banigan had a job in a Providencescrew and hinge factory. Later he was apprenticed in the jewelry industryand as a jorneyman, invented a machine for the production of "cork screwgold" used extensively in th.e manufacture of coral jewelry. In the 1860’sBanigan established himself in the infant rubber good industry, and in1867 he organized the Woonsocket Rubber Company which became the world’slargest manufacturer of rubber shoes and boots. In the 1890’s much of therubber goods industry was organized into a combine and Joseph Banian,whose holdings were valued at $4,200,000, became its first president andgeneral manager, serving from 1893 to 1896. In the latter year he -

withdrew from the company, sold his holdings, and built the Banigan -

Building. - - - - - - -

- Joseph Banigan played the role of the beneficent tycoon to the-full,giving liberal donations- to churches and libraries and building homes forsingle working girls. He received recognition for his charitable activitiesfrom Pope Leo XIII: the Bapigan family became accepted in. Providence society.In short, Joseph Banigan, the poor immigrant boy, by dint of hard work and - -

considerable talent, became a success. The Banigan Building symbblizes thatsUccess -and stands as a monument to Joseph-Banigan’s rise from obscurepoverty to wealth and- social prominence. - - -

GPO 921.124

- Form 1O-YOo UNIT ED STAT ES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ST ATE - -

July 1969 - - NATIONAL PARK SERVICE - Rhode Island -

-


providence- - INVENTORY . NOMINATION FORM - - -

- - - FOR UPS USE ONLY

- . . - ENTRY nUMBER 1 DATE- - Continuation Sheet - S -

_________

Number all en&ie. - -

9. Major Bibliographical References - - -

6; American Architect and Building News, Vol 1 p. 359,November 4, 1876. - - -

7. Providence Journal, July 1,- 1876. - - - -

10. Geographical Data - - - -

A 19 29974O - 4632900 - -

B 19 299950 4632900 -

C 19 299950 4632710D 19 299730 4632720 -

G!O 921.724

ft MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES

1. Bayles, Richard M.: History of PovidenceCounty W.W.- Preston & Co., -

New York, 1891, Vol. I, pp. -

2. The Biographical Cyclopedia of Representative Men- of Rhode Island- Providence National Publishing Company, Providence,ThBBT p.554.

3. Cady, John H.: The Civic and Architectural Development of-Providence -

- Akerman Standard Press, Providence 1957 - -

4. Grossman, Elizabeth IL: The Victorian Commercial Architecture, of Downtown Providence. Unpublished Master’s Thesis, Brown IRersity, 1973.

- 5. Thomson’s Y!strat4 Handbook of Providence Providence, 1876_____ - - - - See Continuation Sheet 5

fto. GEOGRAPHICAL DATA - ,.-..Y..*:. ----:IH -H .:-H::::tr. .

LAT’TUDE AND LONGITUDE COORDINATES I - LiTITUflE AND LONGIJOE COORDINATES

DEFINING A RECTANGLE LOCATINC THE PROfl.RTY 0 or’sc TI,. LeeTrN POrN or A PnOPERTY- - - - - or tES, THAN TrN ACRES

CORNER - LATITUDE LONGITUDER

LATITUDE - LONGITUDE

J91ce5 Minutes

__

APPROXIMATE ACREAGE or NOMINATED PROPERTY,- 24 -

LIST ALL STATES AND COUNTIES FOR PROPERTIES OVERLAPPING STATE OR COUNTY BOUnDARIES

- iii

rn

z

‘-a

-I

C

0

-1

0

____________________________ ______________ ________________

z

I-a

Seconds Degrees Mnutes Seconds0

SEE CCONT.INUA.T0

0

ST ATE:

IC

Degrees Minutes0

N SHEET -3

Sc c on di Degrees Minutes Seconds

0 -

ST AT Er

CODE COUNTY - CODE

STATE: - - - - CODE COUNTY: - CODE

STATE: - - CODE COUNTY: - - - - CODE

CODE COUNTYr

FORM PREPARED BY

ORGANIZATION -

CODE -

52 Power Street

- - DATE

Rhode Island Historical Preservation CoissionSTREET AND NUMBER: -

NAME AND TITLE: - - - -- -- - -- -

- David Chase, Survey Coordinator

CITY OR TOWN: -

Providence -

ii2.5TATELI5oM 0FFICERCtR:IFICATION

STATE - I CODE

Rhode Island

----: ‘ NATlOHAL- REGISTER VERIFICATION -:.y..:. -

As the designated State Liaison Officer for the Na- -

tional 1-listoric Preservation Act 1956 Public law

89665. I hereby nominate this property For inclusion

in the National Register and certify that it has been

evaluated according to the citeria and procecisres set

- forth by the National Park Service. The recommended

level oi significance of this nomination-is:

National D Stale Local D

I - -

flame -

Title - - - - - - --

- - - -

Date -- - -

-

I hereby Certify that this property is included in the

Na0al Register. - -

- - -

, - -

- -

JJi,ec’or. Office of a4tcheoloty and Historic Pttser e.Iion

- - -

D-j!e - - - - -

-- -

ATTEST: - - -

-

- - Keeper of The Natimal Regisez

Date - -

* 11.5. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE: 1973-729.l&7/1442 3.4

IL DESCRIPTION

check One

E Excellent f Good 0 Fair 0 Deteriorated ci Ruins 0 UnexposedCONDITION

Check One - check One

Altered 0 Unaltered fl Moved Original Sit.

DESCRIDE THE PRESENT AND ORIGINAL If known PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

Eight compactly-grouped late nineteenth and early twentieth centuryoffice buildings along Weybosset and Custom House Streets in downtownProvidence form the nucleus of the Custom House Historic District.The Custom House #1 on the site plan designed by Ammi B. Young anderected in 1857, a severe grey granite Renaissance Revival style structure,is the focal point of this core area. It is already on the NationalRegister. The bbunds of the district encompass eight buildings andsix parking areas adjacent to the core area, protecting that core areaand bringing within the district several noteworthy buildings seesite plan. Thus, the Custom House Historic District incorporates thecitys most famous commercial building,- the Greek Revival style Arcadeof 1828 #2, and also on the Register.

Due to the irregular street pattern of the area, the arrangement In

of the buildings within the proposed district is exciting. They form interminal elements at the end of narrow side streets and are brought ininto ever-changing view as one walks along the curving east end ofWeybosset Street. The Turks Head Building #9 functions as both a - -

terminal and transitional element -- cloi-ng a vista and, by its zcurving face, directing the eye around to new vistas down two principalthoroughfares.

With the exception of the Arcade, the Bank of North AmericaBuilding #3, built about 1855, is the oldest building in the proposed C

district. It is a narrow four story brownstone-faced brick structure ndesigned by Thomas Tefft, an important local architect. The facade,articulated in the manner of a Florentine Renaissance palace, originally -

had a heavily rusticated first story which contrasted with the smoothupper stories and gave the building desirable mass at the base. Abovethe ground floor, belt courses at the level of the window sills -

punctuate the smooth surfaces; quoined corners and a heavy, modillionedcornice above a frieze containing the legend "Bank of North America"provide further contrast and interest. The ground floor was remodelledin 1906 by Frederick Field when the present iron columns and large plateglass windows were installed. The three upper stories, although intact,are now obscured by fire. escapes and the brownstone has been painteda buff color. Despite these alterations, the Bank of North AmericaBuilding is still an imposing structure. -

The Blackstone Block #", a brick four story office building builtc.186l, is the work of James C. Bucklin, a Providence builder-architect.Handled in a vernacular version of the Renaissance Revival style, thedesign may have been based on a drawing by Tefft with whom Bucklin wasclosely associated. Brownstone belt courses and rusticated window capstrim the facade. The cornice, lighter than that of the Bank of NorthAmerica, has simple brackets instead of the classical modillions of theearlier building. The multi-paned windows of the ground floor, thoughnot original, produce an effect suffiiently dense visually to avoidthe awkward bareness of the Banks remodelled store front.


Form lO.300a UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STATE

July 1969 - NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Rhode I s 1 and


ProvidenceINVENTORY . NOMINATION:FORM

- FOR NPS USE ONLY

ENTRY NUMBER DATEContinuation Sheet -

Number all entries -

2. Location -

The bounds of the district are as follows: Starting at the intersectionof Pine and Peck Streets, the boundary follows the midline of Peck Streetto Weybosset Street and, crossing Weybosset Street, it follows the north-

- west lot line of 75 Weybosset Street and then that of-the Arcade toWestminster Street; there the boundary turns north along the midl me ofWestminster Street to Exchange Street where it runs east along the midlineof Exchange to Dyer Street; the boundary continues down Dyer Street to itsintersection with Pine Street, and follows the midline of Pine Street tothe starting point.

7. Description

The Equitable Building built-in 1872 is one of the first examples inProvidence of the use of cast iron. The building is attributed toWilliam R. Walker, a local architect of considerable stature. The castiron facade was manufactured by the Builder’s Iron Foundry of Providence.Set at the corner of Weybosset and Custom House Streets, -the building’stwo principal 144 story elevations are joined by an angled corner bay setdiagonally to the mass of the structure and calculated to present a facadewhich is viewed frontally as one moves west along Weybosset Street. Thebasement and first story levels are articulated by engaged columns withfoliated capitals set on high pedestals. Large plate glass windows fillthe interstices. The upper stories of the facades are composed of doublewindows embellished with engaged colonnettes and a series of moulded andflat surfaces receding to the plane of the sash. Above each window atympanum contains trefoil panels. Bold foliated bosses are affixed to thepilasters between the windows. This- layered articulation is both highlyplastic and light, due to the large window surfaces allowed by the use ofcast iron. Until recently the Equitable Building’s ornamental facadeshave been subdued by an overall coat of grey paint. Now it is being repainted in brilliant and contrasting hues. -

The Wilcox Building #6, designed by Edwin 0. Howland, dates from1875. It is one of the city’s first office buildings in the polychromaticHigh Victorian Gothic style. This L-shaped structure, built around theEquitable Building, has facades on Weybosset and Custom House Streets.The brick facades are triimied with stone and their regular fenestrationserves as a pattern from which a complex decorative scheme is elaborated.The ground floor of the Weybosset Street elevation is arcaded; thevoussoirs of its segmental arches are alternate blocks of pudding stone andgrey granite. The capitals of the piers and polished granite columns arerichly carved with foliage, flowers and birds. More abstract motifsembellishthe stone belt courses and fancifully shaped window caps of theupper stories. The Weybosset Street facade is accented by a slightprojection of the two right hand window bays, terminated by a fake gable


GPO 921.724

Farm 1O.300a UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STATE

dJuly 1969 - NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Rhode I sIan


ProvidenceINVENTORY . NOMINATION FORM

FOR NPS USE ONLY

ENTRY NUMBER DATE

Continuation Sheet - 2Number all entries -


rising above the otherwise flat roofline. "The Wilcox Building" isinscribed above the third story windows of this tower-like projection.

For the Custom House Street elevation a less riotous decorativescheme is carried out in tesselated brickwork, and carved stone trim.Here the store fronts are cast iron, and are well preserved. - The legend

The Wilcox Building" also appears on this facade.

32 Custom House Street #7, a secon’d building erected in 1875, isnow known as the Real Estate Title Insurance Building. It too is a stonetrimed brick building in the High Victorian Gothic style. Its ornamentation is more architectonic than that of the Wilcox Building, relyingupon constrasts of material, texture, and color to create a stronglyaccented, but well integrated facade. The bronze ground floor elevation,constructed in the early twentieth century, is also well designed. Framedby a massive rope moulding, its multi-paned double windows form a visuallyeffective base for the masonry wall above. -

The Banigan Building built in 1896 #8, subsequently known as the- Grosvenor and now as the AMICA Building institutes a new scale and

technology in Providence commercial buildings. Ten and a half stories high,it is the first tall building in the city, and is -of fireproof steel frameconstruction. Designed by Winslow and Bigelowof Boston, the quality ofits granite exterior walls attests to the craftsmanship of the contractor,Norcross Brothers, and demonstrates a return to classical precedent andRenaissance models for inspiration. The half story basement is treated asa foundation, the wall plane slightly projected and capped with a mouldedwatertable. The first and second stories are rusticated. The smooth surfaceof the walls above the second story is enlivened by moulded belt coursesbetween the sixth and seventh and the ninth and tenth stories. A massiveoverhanging copper Florentine cornice completes the exterior. Like -theother decorative accents, it contributes to the Banigan Building’s markedhorizontal ity.

Last of the buildings erected in the core area of the Custom- HouseHistoric District is theser,enteen story Turks Head Building #9 datingfrom 1913. Howells and Stokes of New York were responsible for its design.The granite trimmed white brick exterior employs the classical columnapproach -- base, shaft, capital -- to solve the problem of articulatingthe exterior of a tall office building. The lower three floors -- theIlbasell -- form a colossal blind arcade with engaged pol i-shed granitecolumns surmounted by a wide frieze. The fourth through twelfth storiesconstitute the ‘shaft" element -- its verticality emphasized by tall recessed windows. The shorter windows of the thirteenth story, linked bypaneled interspaces, and the modillioned cornice serve as the -"capital ."

- See Continuation Sheet 3

GPO 921.724

Farm 1O-300q UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STATE -

July 1969 NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Rhode Island

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORICPLACES COUNTY-

- ProvidenceINVENTORY - NOMINATION FORM

- FOR NPS USE ONLY- ENTRY NUMBER DATE

Continuation Sheet - 3Number all entries


Called the Turks Head Building for a colonial structure so-named once onthis site, the name is commemorated by a grotesque "turk’s head" in highrelief in the frieze on the rounded end of the building. -

The district includes two other late nineteenth century officebuildings outside the core area: 75 Weybosset Street #10, c.l865 and theHall Building #11, 1876. 75 Weybosset Street is a small three storybrick building, but three window bays wide, faced with an unusually ornatepudding stone facade of vaguely Jacobean inspiration. The five story brickHall Building-is less pretentious. Ornamental treatment is restricted to

continuous bands of brownstone now painted white formed by the windowlintels. Both buildings have obtrusive modern store fronts. Completingthe building inventory of the district are five twentieth Century buildings.Three of these are stone-trimmed brick neo-Federal structures: TheProvidence National Bank Building #12, 1929/1950, now the Industrial -

National Bank Trust Department designed by Howe and Church of Providence;the "Old Colony House" #13, 1927, headquarters of the Old Colony CooperativeBank designed by Thomas H. James of Boston; and 61 Weybosset Street#ik, c.19145. At 102 Westminster Street is the Mee Hong Restaurant#15 with two story "art deco" facade and beside it, at llO WestminsterStreet, an office of the First Federal Savings and Loan Association #16with an all glass facade characteristic of the 1960’s.

Buildings in the Customs House Historic District are in good to -

excellent condition, with the exception of the Wilcox Building, the interiorof which was seriously damaged by fire in January, 1975. Apart from somealtered store fronts, the buildings are otherwise well preserved. Allfunction essentially in the capacity for which they were intended.

8. Significance continued

of the late l890’s and early years of the twentieth century. Together theyare the best integrated and best preserved assemblage of office buildingsin the state.

Functionally and visually these buildings manifest Providence’s roleas the "metropolis" of Rhode Island. The sort of business activity theyhouse, their compact siting and scale, and their expensive exterior -

articulation constitute the quintessential ‘‘big city’’ image. Indeed,though never so tall as office buildings in New York or sections of Boston,structures here produce the same looming, canyon-like spacial effects.

Less obvious, but quite as significant, are phenomena of late nineteenth century social history which these buildings reflect. The WilcoxBuilding is a product of that admixture of egotism and community pride -


- GPO 921.724

- 1- - LJIGNIFICANCE

-. - - . PERIOD Check One or More as Appropriate

C Pre.Calumbion fl 16th Century C 18th Century J 20th centuty

C 15th Century C 17th Century - ] 19th Century

SPECIFIC DAT EISI if Applicable and Known -

AREAS OP SIGNI Fl CANC E Check One or More as Appropriate -

Aboriginal Q Education- C Political -

Urbon Planning

C Prehistoric 0 Engineering C Religian/Ph. C Other Specify

C Historic C Industry - - losophy SOC I I History0 Agriculture Invention C ScienceI1 Architecture C Landscape

- C Sculpture

________________________

El Art Architecture C Social/Human.

________________________

Commerce- Literature

itarian

________________________

Q Commun,cotions C Military C Theater

________________________

0 C onserv ation C Music C Transportation

________________________

STAT EMENT OP SIGNIPICANCE -

The Custom House Historic District gives witness to importantaspects of the economic, architectural and social history of Providence

in in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.r

o By the era of the American Revolution, Providence was becoming theeconomic hub of Rhode Island. In the late eighteenth century Rhode

- Island prosperity was based on maritime commerce. In the nineteenthcentury, when industrialism replaced- trade as. the princil economic

U activity, the port of- Providence remained an important transportationcenter through which raw materials were brought into Rhode Island andmanufactured goods taken to out of state markets. The ProvidenceCustom House symbolizes this aspect of Providence history. AlthoughRhode Island’s nineteenth Century industrial activity was distributed

I" across the countryside, taking advantage of rural water power sites,Z industries were also located in the city and control of rural industrial- activity was centered here too - through direct ownership and by

reliance on Providence banks, insurance companies, cotton and woolbrokers, mill supply houses, law firms, and the like. Since the latterhalf of the nineteenth century the Custom House Historic District andadjacent sections of downtown Providence have housed the state’s majorfinancial institutions, insurance companies, law offices, real estatebrokers and "intown" offices of outlying mills.

The architecture of these buildings is closely related to economichistory in several ways. For example, increased land costs in thedowntown area promoted construction of taller buildings. Technologicaladvances like the introduction of the passenger elevator and steelframe construction made greatly increased building heights feasible.The prosperity of Providence firms and individual entrepeneurs permitted them to indulge in construction of the impressive facadearchitecture these buildings exemplify. With the exception of theBlackstone Block, the buildings forming the nucleus of the Customs HouseHistoric District are representative of the most sophisticated effortsof local architects and are characteristic of work by well known Bostonand New York firms. They illustrate the transformation from the severeRenaissance Revival style of the 1850’s, through the exuberant HighVictorian Gothic, to the classicism which typified large office buildings


* Form 10.300a UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STATE

July 1969 NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Rhode IslandNATIONAL

REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES COUNTYProvidence

INVENTORY . NOMINATION FORM- FOR NPS USE ONLY

ENTRY NUMBER DATE- Continuation Sheet - 4

Number all enrrf as - -

8. Significance continued

prevalent in the "Age of Progress." Dutee Wilcox came to Providence from-Massachusetts in 1850. He was sixteen, and set to work as a jeweler’sapprentice. Nine years later he invented an improved shirt stud and-, witha partner, established a company to manufacture it. The firm soon did anannual business in excess of $100,000. Eventually Wilcox was sole ownerof the business. He became a man of affairs in Providence,-serving as adirector of the Board of Trade and various banks, a member of the schoolcommittee, alderman, and a promoter of the YMCA. The business block hebuilt, blazcned as it was with the Wilcoxname, was glowingly described ina biography written in 1881:

- In 1875 Mr. Wilcox erected one of the most magnificent andcostly business buildings in Rhode Island.... It is a -

build ing of which the citizens of Providence may justly -

feel proud, and fittingly represents the character, talents,and tastes of the owner, and indicates the public-spiritand liberality of one who has choen in this manner toexhibit his deep interest in all that may improve and

- adorn his adopted city. - -

The Horatio Alger syndrome-as a common late nineteenth century social -

phenomenonis more dramatically portrayed in the history of the man whobuilt what was Rhode Island’s largest office building: Joseph Banigan.Born in Ireland, his family came to the United States during the greatmigration of 1847. At the age of nine Banigan had a job in a Providencescrew and hinge factory. Later he was apprenticed in the jewelry industryand as a jorneyman, invented a machine for the production of "cork screwgoldti used extensively in the manufacture of coral jewelry. In the 1860’sBanigan established himself in the infant rubber goods industry, and in1867 he organized the Woonsocket Rubber Company which became the world’slargest manufacturer of rubber shoes and boots. In the 1890’s much of therubber goods industry was organized into a combine and Joseph Banigan,whose holdings were valued at $4,200,000, became its first president andgeneral manager, serving from 1893 to 1896. In the latter year hewithdrew from the company, sold his holdings, and built the BaniganBuilding.

Joseph Banigan played the role of the beneficent tycoon to the full,giving liberal donations to churches and libraries and building homes forsingle working girls. He received recognition for his charitable activitiesfrom Pope Leo XIII: the Banigan family became accepted in Providence society.In short, Joseph B.anigan, the poor immigrant boy, by dint of hard work andconsiderable talent, became a success. The Banigan Building symbolizes thatsuccess and stands as a monument to Joseph Banigan’s rise from obscurepoverty to wealth and social prominence.

GPO 921.724

* Form 1O-300o UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR STATE

July 1969 - NATIONAL PARK SERVICE Rhode IslandNATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES COUNTY

INVENTORY . NOMINATION FORM-- FOR NPS USE ONLY

- . . ENTRY NUMBER DATE- Continuation Sheet - 5

Number eEl entries - -

9. Major Bibliographical References -

6. American Architect and Building News, Vol 1, p. 359,November 4, 1876. -

7. Providence Journal, July 1, 1876. -

10. Geographical Data - - -

A 19 299740 4632900B 19 299950 4632900 -

C 19 299950 4632710D 19 299730 4632720

GPO 921.724

1- -ft. MAJOR BIBLIOGRAPHICAL REFERENCES-

1. By1es, Rièhard M.: History of Providence County w.w. Preston & Co.,- New York, 1891, Vol. I, pp. 682-684. -

2. The Biographical Cyclopedia of Representative Men of Rhode IslandProvidence National Publishing Company, Providence, 1881 p.554.

3. Cady, John II.: The Civic and Architectural Development of ProvidenceAkerman Standard Press, Providence 1957

4. Grossman, Elizabeth G.: The Victorian Commercial Architecture of Downtown Providence. Unpublished Master’s Thesis, Brown University, 1973.5. Thomson’s Illustrated Handbook of Providence Providence, 1876

- - - See Continuation Sheet 5’EI GEOGRAPHICAL DATALATITUDE AND LONGITUDE COORDINATES I L&TITUr1E AND LONGITIDE cooRo’NA-i-es

DEFINING A RECTANGLE LDCATING THE PROOERTY 0 DEFINING TH.i Lc- TIN POIN I OF A PriOPERTY

- R OF LESS THAN Trw ACRES -

CORNER LATITUDE LONGITUDE LATITUDE LONGITUDE

Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minutes Seconds Degrees Minules SecondsNW ° 5 0 . - 0 . 5 0 -

NE ° . - SEEOCONT.INIJA.TI N S1EET 5

SE ° . . 0

Sw 0 , . 0 . . - --

APPROXIMATE ACREAGE OF NOMINATED PROPERTY: 24ILIST ALL STATES ANO COUNTIES FOR PROPERTIES OVERLAPPING STATE OR COUNTY BOUNDARIES

STATE: CODE COUNTY

STATE: CODE COUNTY:

STATE: - CODE COUNTY;

STATE: CODE COUNTY:

fj FORM PREPARED BYNAME AND TITLE;

David Chase, Survey CoordinatorORGANIZATION DATE

- Rhode Island Historical Preservation Cormiission January, 1975STREET AND NUMBER:

- - 52 Power StreetCITY OR TOWN: -

ProvidenceSTATE CODE

Rhode Island 44STATE LIAISON OFFICER CERTIFICA1 IOU

As the designated State Liaison Officer for the Na-- - - - -tional Historic Preservation Act of 1966 Public Law

89-665. 1 herehy nominate this property for inclusion

in the National Register and certify that it has been

evaluated according to the c-iteria and procethi res set

forth by the National Park Service. The recommended- - - - ---levet of s:gniicance of this nomination is:

National C State Locat o

N a me

Title

Date

NATIONAL REGISTER VERIFICATION

I hereby certify that this property is inctuded in the

National Register. -

-

-

Director. Office of Archeology and Historic Preservation

Date

AnEST:

-

Keeper of The National Register

Dite

2’’

En

IT’

ni

t

VS

-I

C

n-1

0

z

En

* U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1973-729.141/1442 3.1

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIORFORM 10.301 A NATIONAL PARK SERVICE16f72 NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES

PROPERTY PHOTOGRAPH FORMType all entries - attach to or en close with photograph

1. NAMECOMMON AND/OR HISTORIC NUMERIC CODE A..lgned byNP$

Custom House Historic District2. LOCATIONSTATE CQUNTY* TOWt

Rhode Island rovidere ‘rovideixe

STREET AND NUMBER

Weybosset, Westminster & Custom House streets

3. PHOTO REFERENCEPHOTO CREDIT DATE NEGATIVETILEDAT

R. I. Historical Pres. Comm52 Power Street

D. W. Chase Sept. 1Th Providere, R. I. 029064. IDENTIFICATIONDESCRIBE VIEW. DIRECTION. ETC.

Bank of North America Building 1855Detail of facadeshowing the third and fourth stories.

1. NAMECOMMON

Custom House Historic Di

AND/OR HISTORIC

stric

JNUMERIC CODE A.aIgn by NPS

2. LOCATIONSTATE

Rhode Is1n1

ICOUNTY

IProyidreTOWN

I ProvidereSTREET AND NUMBER

Weybosset, Westminster& Custom House streets3. PHOTO REFERENCEPHOTO CREDIT

D. W. Chase4. IDENTIFICATION

IDATE

Sept. 1973

lEATIYEFt.:bEDiA*I*l Pres. Comm.h..!.. 112.

‘52 Power Street‘rovid, R 1 02906

DESCRIBE VIEW. DIRECTION, ETC.

General view, downtown Providencewith the Custom House Historic Districtin the foreground.From the left south: Old Colony House Old Colony Cooperative Bank, 1927;blank sidewall 32 Custom House Street 1875; Blackstone Block c.1861;rear Providexxe Custom House 1857 with dome; behind the Custom House standsthe Turks Head Building 1913; Banigan Building 1896; on the extreme rightis 40 WestminsterStreet 1970 on the north side of the ExchangeStreet boundaryof the district; the "skyscraper" in the center is the Industrial National Bank 1929.

FORM 10.301 AI/72

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIORNATIONAL PARK SERVICE

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACESPROPERTY PHOTOGRAPH FORM

Type all entries - attach to or enclosewith photograph

GPO 932-009

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENTOF THE INTERIORNATIONAL PARK SERVICE


NAMEHISTORI C

SEE INSTRUCTIONS IN HOWTO COMPLETE NA TIONAL REGISTER FORMSTYPE ALL ENTRIES --IENCLOSE WITH PHOTOGRAPH

AND/OR COMMONCustom House

*

Historic District

D LOCATIONCITY. TOWN Providence

.

OF COUNTY Rrovidence STATE Rhode±sland

fl PHOTO REFERENCEPHOTO CREDIT Keith N. Morgan DATE OF PHOTO m 1975

NEGATIVE FILED AT hode Island Historical Preservation Commission

IDENTIFICATIONESCRIBE VIEW. DIRECTION. ETC. IF DISTRICT. GIVE BUILDING NAME & STREET PHOTO NO

General street view taken from intersection of Weybossetand WestminsterStreets,with Turks Head Building in right foreground and Banigan Building in left foreground

Farm No. 1O-301aRev. 10-74

FORNPSUSEONLY

REEWED

ATE EN IRED

INT1 299378

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIORFORM 10.301 A NATIONAL PARK SERVICE16172


Type all entries - attach to or en close with photograph

1. NAMECOMMON AND/OR HISTORIC NUMERIC CODE Aulgnod byMPS

Custom House Historic District

2. LOCATIONSTATE COUNTY TOWN

Rhode IslandSTREET AND NUMBER

Providee Providence

Weybosset, Westminster & Custom House streets

3. PHOTO REFERENCEPHOTO CREDIT

D. W. Chase

bATE

Sept. 1973

INGAT1VEJLfocal Pres. Comr52 Power Street

1 Providence, R. I. 029064. IDENTIFICATIONDESCRIBE VIEW. DIRECTION. ETC.

General view, southeast side Weybossetstreet from the northBuildings shown from left to right:Equitable Building 1872Wilcox Building 1875Bank of North America Building 1855"Old Colony House" Old Colony Cooperative Bank, 1927

GPO 932.009

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIORFORM 10.301 A NATIONAL PARK SERVICE16/72 NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES

PROPERTY PHOTOGRAPH FORMType all entries - attach to or enclosewith photograph

1. NAMECOMMON

Custom House Historic Di

AND/OR HISTORIC

stri4

NUMERIC CODE Aeatgned byNPS

2. LOCATIONSTATE

Rhode IsThMICOUNTY

IPrnvfderre

TOWN

I ProviderrSTREET AND NUMBER

Weybosset,Westminster& Custom House streets3. PHOTO REFERENCEPHOTO CREDIT

D. W. Chase4. IDENTIFICATION

bATE

Sept. 1973 152 Power StreetI ‘rovidence, R..

Pres. Comm.

I. -26

DESCRIBE VIEW. DIRECTION. ETC.

General view, downtown Providence with the Custom House Historic Districtin the foreground.From the left south: Old Colony House Old Colony Cooperative Bank, 1927;blank sidewall 32 Custom House Street 1875; Blackstone Block c.1861;rear ProvidenceCustom House 1857 with dome; behind the Custom House standsthe Turks Head Building 1913; Banigan Building 1896; on the extreme rightis 40 WestminsterStreet 1970 on the north side of the ExchangeStreet boundaryof the district; the "skyscraper" in the center is the Industrial National Bank 1929.

GPO 932.009

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIORNATIONAL PARK SERVICE


Type all entries - attach to or enclose with photograph

L NAME ,

COMMON

Custom House Historic D

AND/OR HISTORIC

istricft

NUMERIC CODE A..Iln.dbyNPS

2. LOCATIONSTATE

Rhode Island‘COUNTY

Providence1TOWN

I ProvidenceSTREET AND NUMBER

Weybosset, Westminster & Custom House streets3. PHOTO REFERENCEPHOTO CREDIT

D. W. Chase

bATE

J Sept. 1973I 52 Power StreetI Prr, R T

Pres.

02906

Comm.

4. IDENTIFICATIONDESCRIBE VIEW. DIRECTION. ETC.

Wilcox Building 1875Detail second floor WindOWS

WeybossetStreet facade

FORM 10.301 A6/72

CUSTOM HOUSE HISTORIC DISTRICT

19 29974019 29995019 29995019 299730

4632900463290046327104632720

Form No 10-301Rev 10-74

____________________________________________

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR FOR NPS USE ONLYNATIONAL PARK SERVICE

RECEIVED

NATIONAL REGISTER OF HISTORIC PLACES :.;*

PROPERTY MAP FORMDATE ENTERED

SEE INSTRUCTIONS IN HOWTO COMPLETE NA TIONAL REGISTERFORMSTYPE ALL ENTRIES --I ENCLOSE WITH MAP

L1 NAMEHISTORIC

Custom House Historic District

AND/OR COMMON

j LOCATIONCITY. TOWN providce VICINITY OF COUNTYprovjdence STATE R. I.

f] MAP REFERENCESOURCE United States Geological Survey

- SCALE 1 : 24 000 DATE 1957; photorevised 1970

jJ REQUIREMENTSTO BE INCLUDED ON ALL MAPS

1. PROPERTY BOUNDARIES2. NORTH ARROW3. UTM REFERENCES

IN T :242 7- 74

Cuom Hou. HLork trcL.

1. CustomHouse, 18572. Providence Arcade 18283. Bank of North America

Building, 1855Blackstone B-lock, c. 1861Equitable Building, 1872Wilcox Building, 187532 Custom House St., 1875Banigan Building, 1896Turks Head BuildIng, 191375 Weybosset Street, 1896Hall Building, 1876Providence National BankBuilding Industrial National Bank Trust Department, 1929/1950

13. "Old Colony House, OldColony Cooperative Bank,1927

11. 61 Weybosset Street,c. 19i5

15. 102 Westminster Street,c. 1950

16. 110 Westminster St.’eet,C. 1960

"P" Parking Area

Boundary of District

L+e Ptap

7.

5.6.7.8.9.

10.11.12.

U

,.

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIORFORM 10.301 A NATIONAL PARK SERVICE6/72


Type all entries - attach to or en closewith photograph

1. NAME .

COMMON 1AND/OR HISTORIC

Customz House Historic District

NUMERIC CODE A.Igned byMPS

2. LOCATIONSTATE COUNTY TOWN

Rhode Island Providence ProvidenceSTREET AND NUMBER

.Weybosset,Westminster& Custom House streets3. PHOTO REFERENCEPHOTOCREDIT DATE NEGATIVEILEDAT

R. I. Historical Pres. Comm.

D. W. Chase Sept. 19734. IDENTIFICATION

52 Power StreetProvidence, R.. I.. 02906

DESCRIBE VIEW. DIRECTION. ETC.

Site Plan.

GPO 932-009

Iff’TIT N...financial institutions, insurance companies, law offices, real estate brokers and...

Documents

Transcript of Iff’TIT N...financial institutions, insurance companies, law offices, real estate brokers and...