Providence embraced the Colonial Revival style early and long. Interest in historic American architecture began to emerge in this country in the years around the celebration of the Centennial, celebrated in Philadelphia in 1876. At first, interest focused on picturesque forms and application of details deemed “Colonial,” understood then as derived from buildings constructed between the early 17th century and roughly 1830. By the 1880s, however, clients wanted and architects provided houses that more accurately imitated whole houses. The earliest of these were built, in fact, in Rhode Island, at first in Newport and Barrington, but by the late 1880s increasingly in Providence. One of the favorite models for the Colonial Revival house was the gambrel roof, the double-sloped roof found on this house. Gambrel roofs were used commonly in the state for the first three quarters of the 18th century and seem to have been regarded as iconic by Colonial Revival architects.




On the interior, the large center hall, much more ample than what one would find in the 18th-century exemplars, is typical. As seen in the houses at 72 (William Binney House) and 79 Prospect Street (Smith Owen House), this formal organization never really fell out of favor in Providence and can be found in substantial houses from almost every decade of the 19th century.
Sprague was a partner in Sprague, Cook & Co, dealers in grain.
— 2006 Festival of Historic Houses Guidebook
100 Henry S. Sprague House, 1902-5. Colonial Revival; 2-1/2 stories; brick first story and shingle above; gambrel roof with three pedimented dormers and dentil cornice; 3 bay facade; 2 story Ionic pilasters flank central bay which includes a one story Ionic entrance porch.
— College Hill National Register District; 1976