Market House (Providence, Rhode Island)
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Market House
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Market House in 2008
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| Location | Providence, Rhode Island |
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| Coordinates | 41°49′32″N 71°24′31″W / 41.82556°N 71.40861°WCoordinates: 41°49′32″N 71°24′31″W / 41.82556°N 71.40861°W |
| Built | 1775 |
| Part of | College Hill Historic District (#70000019) |
| NRHP Reference # | 72000001 |
| Significant dates | |
| Added to NRHP | April 13, 1972 |
| Designated NHLDCP | November 10, 1970 |
The Market House is an historic three-story brick market house in Market Square, in the College Hill neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island. The building was constructed in 1775 to a design by locally prominent architect Joseph Brown and Declaration signer Stephen Hopkins. The bottom level of the structure was used as a market and the upper level was used for holding meetings in the tradition of English public market buildings. Similar buildings existed in other American cities, such as Faneuil Hall in Boston and the Old Brick Market in Newport. The building housed the Providence City Council in the decades before completion of City Hall.
The primary architect was Joseph Brown. Brown was Providence's top architect at the time. His previous commissions included University Hall at Brown University and the First Baptist Meeting House. He was assisted in his design by Stephen Hopkins.
The building was originally two stories in height, topped by a low gable roof. In 1797, a third floor was added to house the first Masonic Lodge in Rhode Island. The first floor is surrounded on all sides but the eastern end by an arcade of large round arches. The east gable features a large bulls-eye window; the west gable, a clock.
In 1833, architect James C. Bucklin designed a two-story addition on the east end of the building. This addition provided an entrance to the third story Masonic hall.
In August 1771, a petition signed by a number of townspeople was presented to the General Assembly, asking for a market house. The General Assembly raised funds through a lottery to erect a building in a location proposed by David Bucklin. Excavations on Market House began on May 25, 1773 and was completed in 1775.
Almost immediately, Market House became the center of civic life in Providence, due to its central location at the east end of the Weybosset Bridge. On March 2, 1775 residents gathered here to show their resistance to British taxation by burning British tea.
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