One of the finest and best preserved of John Holden Greene’s houses, this is a late and very refined modulation of a formula first essayed in the Dorr House and later used for the Benoni Cooke House. It is also a summation of the massing and detailing that distinguished Providence architecture in the first three decades of the nineteenth century. The terraced siting of the house-service wing-barn complex is more nuanced than before, with each section given its own entrance and separate terrace. The main block’s form, capped with a low hip-roof monitor, was a favorite of Greene’s but not his invention; visually, it creates a felicitous culmination of the composition; functionally; it enables better circulation of hot air up and out of the house during Providence’s sometimes sultry summers. Built in brick for a wealthy textile manufacturer, the house celebrates an abundance of detail not usually associated with Federal houses, of which this is admittedly a late example. Balustrades vary in texture and configuration from the front porch, roof edge, and monitor top, and a variety of fences added to the mix. The Providence Handicraft Club has owned, occupied, and beautifully preserved this house since 1925.
– 2003 Guide to Providence Architecture
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