Nightingale-Brown House - Providence, Rhode Island - Pre-Victorian Historic Homes on Waymarking.com

Built in 1792 for Captain Joseph Nightingale, the Nightingale-Brown House was one of five mansions constructed on Providence's College Hill shortly after the Revolutionary War. In 1814, wealthy investor and industrialist Nicholas Brown Jr. purchased the home from Nightingale's heirs, the first of five generations of the Brown family to live in the house.

The Nightingale-Brown House now includes additions built for scholar and bibliophile John Carter Brown by architects Thomas Tefft (1853) and Richard Upjohn (1862-64). The landscape was designed for John's wife Sophia in 1890, by the Boston landscape design firm of Frederick Law Olmsted.

During the 1920s, John Nicholas Brown, redecorated the house in the Colonial Revival style using traditional American motifs. John Nicholas's interests included architecture and historic preservation, art, history, sailing, and philanthropy.

In 1985, work began to transform the Browns' ancestral home into a building meeting the practical realities of public use. The building's painstaking renovation took nearly eight years to complete. During the mid-point of the renovation in 1989, the Nightingale-Brown House became a National Historic Landmark. In 1993 the John Nicholas Brown Center for the Study of American Civilization, located within the Nightingale-Brown House, officially opened to the public. Two years later, in 1995, the Center became part of Brown University.

Earliest Recorded Date of Construction: 01/01/1792 Additional Dates of Construction: 1985 - renovation Thomas Tefft and Richard Upjohn made additions in 1853 and 1864, respectively Architectural Period/Style: Georgian Style Landscape Designer (if known): 1890 - Frederick Law Olmsted Type of Building e.g. Country House, Stately Home, Manor: Stately Home Interesting Historical Facts or Connections: Home of the Brown Family, founders of Brown University. Now part of the college. Listed Building Status (if applicable): National Historic Landmark Main Material of Construction: Wood Private/Public Access: Public Opening Hours (if applicable): From: 9:00 AM To: 5:00 PM Related Website: [Web Link] Rating: Architect (if known): Not listed Admission Fee (if applicable): Not Listed

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Date Logged Log User Rating   08/01/2010 Roscoe45 visited it 05/06/2008 Hikenutty visited it

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