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This house appears substantially different from its original iteration. Remaining elements include the center entrance flanked by substantial sidelights, the tripartite windows flanking the principal entrance on the first story, the paired windows on the second story, and the pilaster strips that frame the corners. As built, however, the house rose a full three stories to a low hip roof with paneled balustrade, and a two-story porch with Doric columns and bracketed cornice framed the central bay of the façade. On the inside, the position of the central hall and staircase, the configurations of the library and living room flanking the hall and the dining room behind the library, and the dining-room paneling are all original; detailing of the staircase and the mantel in the living room represent mid-20th century remodeling.

Mary I. Dresser (ca. 1850-1928), the widow of Henry B. Dresser, built this house and lived here originally with her children: Edith A., Franklyn G., Richard, and Robert. Edith Dresser continued to live here until her death in the early 1950s, when brothers Richard and Robert Dresser, as executors of the estate, sold the property to Mr. and Mrs. John Dillon in late 1955. The Dillons immediately carried out reducing and remodeling the house, which acquired a room that filled the southeast corner between main block and ell. Now a family room, it has seen several iterations since its completion in the 1950s. 

– 2011 Festival of Historic Houses Guidebook

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© 2024 Guide to Providence Architecture. All rights reserved. Design by J. Hogue at Highchair designhaus, with development & support by Kay Belardinelli.