If one house in Providence best represents the small-scale vernacular interpretation of the Greek Revival, this is it. The Greek temple form is here reduced to turning a simple gable-roof house end to the street, emphasizing the triangularity of the wall top as a simulacrum of a pediment, and framing the entrance and corners with wide wooden strips echoes of columns. Only the high basement adds a touch of typically Greek Revival monumentality. But its unflinching straightforwardness is undeniably appealing. Perhaps its guilelessness is just the quality needed for it to hold its own on a corner dominated by far more ambitious neighbors. Marie Mason was a widow when she built this house; she lived here until her death in the 1860s and left the house to her daughters, who lived here for several decades.
– 2003 Guide to Providence Architecture
I am puzzled by your history on the Mason house. I worked for the Shattuck’s in 1969-1970 while I was an undergraduate at Brown. Back then the historical marker on the house said Milo Mason. Can you clarify
Thank you for your inquiry! When many of our first house histories were written in the 1960s and 70s, access to original documents was more limited than it is today, and house naming conventions often privileged men by default. Often when the histories are revisited at a later date, we realize that the official information needs to be updated. In this case, all property records list Marie Mason, and not her husband, Milo, as the owner of the land and home, and the 1844 Providence City Directory indicates that she is a widow.
I lived in this house for a couple of years in the late 70’s. One sweet little apt on first floor and then moved to 2nd floor. Rode through the Blizzard of ‘78 in this house. Some of the best times and, and then, the house had many of the original features, including an old green cast iron stove! I smile every time I drive by🤗🥰