When Peleg and Rebekah Williams first laid out Williams Street in 1798, they specified bricks as the building material and six-and-a-half feet as the set-back from the street, a practice typical in many areas that were developed before zoning laws established building parameters in the twentieth century (in Providence, 1926). Thus these three brick houses comprise an unusual ensemble for Providence. The Pope House is yet another almighty cube, a bit of an associational stretch for a mere mason, but he probably built it himself. This is one of the most appealing blocks from early nineteenth-century Providence, and, not surprisingly, was selected in the mid-1970s as a backdrop for scenes from the PBS series “The Adams Chronicles.”
– 2003 Guide to Providence Architecture
The house pictured above, on the right, is the Carlisle House, 87 Williams Street. To the left is the Cromwell Barney House (1800), 91 Williams Street). To the left of Barney House is the West Pope House (1801), 97 Williams Street.
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