This is Providence’s oldest row house, a form seldom seen here. Unlike the later Athenæum Row, the Ives Row appears as a row of connected small-scale single-family houses rather than a monumental, monolithic urban block, and the simplicity of the trim only reinforces the building’s rather utilitarian character. Interior organization follows traditional patterns, with kitchens originally at the cellar level (fully exposed on the downhill western side), parlors on the 1st-story level, and bedrooms above on the 2nd and 3rd stories; compare this organization with that of Athenæum Row.

Thomas Poynton Ives (1769-1835) was one of Providence’s wealthiest citizens, a principal in the firm Brown & Ives, whose fortune ultimately rested on 18th-century shipping but by the time of his death had vastly diversified, especially into textile manufacturing. The example of this row no doubt inspired his heirs to build Athenæum Row.

— 2006 Festival of Historic Houses