Two fine essays (with 248 Hope Street) by Stone, Carpenter & Willson on what to do with a corner. By the time these were built, the firm almost certainly enjoyed an acknowledged talent for such sites, with several prominent examples they could point to (314 Benefit Street, 336 Benefit Street, and 179 Hope Street). Wilson House, the first, is in some ways the niftier of the two because of its triangular lot. The architects anchored the composition around a circular tower on the house’s north side, nearest the apex of the triangle. The front porch sweeps from the roof and wall surface to embrace the tower and connect it visually into the façade. Moulton House, on the north side of Lloyd, is on a more conventionally configured lot, but the presence across the street of Wilson by the time designs were prepared surely suggested to the architects the opportunities for an urban architectural dialogue between the two houses.
– 2003 Guide to Providence Architecture
Share your Story
Something to add? An edit or correction to suggest? Community input about the history of these important places is welcome. All submissions are reviewed before posting.