Thursday, May 22, 2014

Five Carrère & Hastings buildings in Rhode Island



1) Central Congregational Church (1890-1893) is the earliest of five surviving Carrère and Hastings buildings in Rhode Island:

2) An atypical Providence mansion, the Francis W. Carpenter house (1896-1915) lies to the immediate west of the church and was commissioned by a congregation member who had been on the church building committee. Since 1973 this building has been run as Hamilton House – a center for adults over fifty-five. Carpenter was a major donor to the church, paying to build the original Pastor’s Residence (1893-4) at 20 Diman Place and the large west wing stained glass. Jordy 2004 claims that it was Carpenter’s enthusiastic visit to St. Augustine, Florida that brought Carrere & Hasting to the RI congregation's attention. But it seems more likely that it was the new Rev. Dr. Edward C. Moore, a former student of Rev. Hastings, the architect's father, that prompted Carpenter's visit and deepened the support for hiring the firm. [Ossman 2011.] 

 (276 Angell St., Providence, RI 02906)

3) Nearby, the Brown University - Orwig Music Building is a much-renovated brick mansion at the northeast corner of Young Orchard Ave and Hope St. in Providence. Around 1900, I. Gifford Sprague bought an existing c. 1850 house at this location and hired Carrere & Hastings to do a major renovation while the firm continued to work nearby on the Carpenter house (above). By 1950, the Sprague house had been sold and converted for institutional uses. Brown acquired it in the 1970s and renovated it in 1981. [Woodward 1986: 247.] (1 Young Orchard Ave., Providence, RI 02906)

4) In Newport, R.I. Vernon Court (1898-1901) was designed as a summer “cottage” for out of state clients, and is now open to the public as the National Museum of American Illustration (492 Bellevue Ave., Newport, RI 02840).

5) The Senator Nelson W. Aldrich mansion (1909-11) in Warwick Neck is now owned by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence and run as event venue; it was the setting for the 1998 film, Joe Black. Overlooking Narragansett Bay, “Indian Oaks” was built on a hundred acre private compound purposefully set away from the Newport social scene. (836 Warwick Neck Ave., Warwick, RI 02889) [Ossman 2011: 248-258.]

Related Posts:



No comments:

Post a Comment