The Sharpe Carriage House, now known as the Urban Environmental Laboratory, was built in 1884 for Lucien Sharpe of the Brown & Sharpe Manufacturing Company. Designed by Alpheus Morse, the building is a 2½-storied barn with a Jerkinhead roof and paired entrances flanked by projecting end pavilions. The building mimics Swiss chalets in the modern gothic style. Since its construction, the carriage house has been the home of Lucien Sharpe’s coachman, a Pembroke College Dormitory, and the garage for the Kimball family. It was sold to Brown University in 1966 and was used as storage until the 1980s. Two years after the founding of the Center for Environmental Studies at Brown in 1978, the department received grants from the Department of Energy and the Richard King Mellon Foundation to retrofit the building for use as a state-of-the-art, energy-efficient mixed-use department headquarters. The renovations included living space for five students, a greenhouse, conference room, offices and lounge. It is currently used as academic space for the Center for Environmental Studies.
127 and 129 Angell Street are Greek Revival houses typical of the mid-1800s with gabled roofs and portico entrances. 127 Angell Street, built in 1853, is a three-apartment house currently rented to students. 129 Angell was acquired by Brown University in 1984 from Margaret Howe and was used to house visiting scholars until 2000, when the University began renting it to students.
In 2008, these three historic buildings were in imminent danger because Brown University had developed plans to build the new Mind, Brain and Behavior building on the site in spring 2009. The potential loss of these building would have also meant the permanent loss of the historic residential context on this block of Angell Street. Through its listing on the Most Endangered Properties list in 2008, PPS hoped to help Brown find appropriate relocation solutions for the buildings and also communicate to the University that the community objects to continually sacrificing historic fabric for institutional growth.
Status – SAVED: In 2009 Brown announced a change of plans, ending any immediate threat of demolition. The buildings were included as part of five endangered buildings on the 2018 MEP list, but were once again saved when Brown chose to locate its planned performing arts building on a different site. As of February, 2019, these properties remain prime candidates for redevelopment.
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