This large-scale and dramatically sited house began as a two-story Federal house built for cotton manufacturer Moses Lippitt. In the mid-1860s, Cornelia Burgess Green bought the house and added the third story to make yet another Providence cube with additions to the rear. The cobblestone courtyard in the rear is worth a detour, both in its own right and opportunity to experience the charming stretch of Neighbor’s Lane that leads to it. One of several small alleyways in the neighborhood (in a city where such are almost non-existent), this was restored in 2000. The house was the life-long home of Theodore Francis Green (1867-1961), Rhode Island Governor (1933-1937) and United States Senator (1937-1961). Unlike most of the people with his old-money Yankee background, Green evolved politically into a liberal Democrat and was responsible for ending the dominance of the Republican machine in Rhode Island state politics in the mid-1930s. Green and other members of his family played a key role in the preservation of this neighborhood by buying and restoring a number of houses on and near John Street.
– 2003 Guide to Providence Architecture
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