This very handsome and elegant Renaissance Revival mansion is the former home of one of Rhode Island's most influential politicians, Henry Lippitt. It's massive, with 30 rooms spread over three-floors, the mansion displays American Victorian opulence at its best. All of the rooms are finished in filigreed woodwork and the light through the stained-glass windows is amazing during Autumn. Since its construction in 1865, the mansion harbored generations of Lippitt's descendants until they finally donated it to Preserve Rhode Island in 1981. The society hosts tours (on Friday only during Summer) and it also rents the estate along with the first-floor museum for events.
Dedicated in 1763, Touro Synogogue is America's oldest synagogue. Descendants of Sephardim from Spain and Portugal seeking freedom from persecution founded the congregation in 1658. Peter Harrison, a known colonial architect, designed the synagogue. It is one of the best examples of 18th-century architecture in America. Friday services are held in the synagogue at 6p in winter, and 7p in summer. Saturday services are at 8:45a. Tours are conducted every half-hour Monday through Friday; in winter, tours are Friday at 1p and Sunday from 11a-3p. Donations accepted.
Located within the Windmill Hill Historic District, Jamestown Windmill is set against a picturesque background of green pastures. The historic windmill built in 1787 - was majorly used to grind corn. The smock mill sitting tall with a three-story Octagonal structure was operational until the late 1890s. The historic structure is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Managed by Jamestown Historic Society, the windmill is open to the public. Tour the historic site and climb up to the bonnet - check out the gears used to power the mill.
The First Baptist Church in America is quite literally the primogenitor of all the subsequent congregations across the nation for this particular denomination of Protestantism. It was constructed in 1775 and like many other buildings in College Hill, it played a significant part in the development of both Colonial America as well as Providence. The church was also the impetus behind Brown University and its relocation from nearby Warren in 1770 (even though the building did not exist, the clerical bureaucracy still had considerable clout). In fact, the university still holds undergraduate commencement ceremonies inside the church's Meeting Hall every Fall. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1966 and today its open to the public for services on Sunday as well as more tourist-oriented visits during the week.
Chepstow is a black-shuttered Newport mansion designed after an Italian villa. You will find the 19th-century collections of art, paintings, furnishings and documents of the Newport Morris family indicative of Newport mansion owners and the wealth of the times. A spiral self-supported staircase, tiled floors and white stucco brings you back to days of leisure living in informal elegance of a Newport cottage. The Newport Preservation Society conducts tours of Chepstow with advance reservations.
WaterFire is a magnificent array of more than 80 mini bonfires or braziers that illuminate the three rivers of Providence. It began in 1994 when artist Barnaby Evans used the confluence of the rivers to create this ephemeral water exhibition. However, it was not that fleeting because the city of Providence along with generous volunteers and donors continues to present the exhibition every weekend. The route runs from Waterplace Park to South Main Street and it winds nearly two-thirds of a mile through parks and public spaces in downtown Providence. Here, people can stroll along the riverbanks while listening to the sounds of classical music hum over loudspeakers. The fires are lit approximately 20 minutes after sunset each Saturday and usually burn for two to three hours.