Truman Beckwith House
In 1925 the Handicraft Club purchased its present site, the Truman Beckwith House on College Hill. The house was awarded a certificate in 1941 by the Department of the Interior stating that it was an historic building “possessing exceptional historic or architectural interest and worthy of most careful preservation for the benefit of later generations.”
Truman Beckwith bought this lot on the corner of College and Benefit Streets in 1821 from Mary D. Bowen whose grandfather, Jabez Brown, had inherited it as part of the Daniel Abbott estate in 1782. Beckwith engaged John Holden Greene as architect and began to build his brick house “way up there in the sticks” as his family thought. Records show that Zechariah Chafee was the mason. Beckwith’s name appeared in the Providence Directory at this address in 1829.
The main house, with kitchen wing to the east and carriage house set at right angles to it along a paved and terraced courtyard, follows an L-shaped scheme that lends itself to a hillside location. The setting of the house is one of the most dramatic in Providence. Stylistically it is characteristic of the fine houses that were built in the second and third decades of the 19th century.
The first floor of the main house is now used for meetings; the second floor, the stable and carriage house contain workrooms and a lunch room to share meals. The bow window in the library fronting on College Street was designed by Norman M. Isham after 1925. The charming gardens have recently been redesigned.
Truman Beckwith bought this lot on the corner of College and Benefit Streets in 1821 from Mary D. Bowen whose grandfather, Jabez Brown, had inherited it as part of the Daniel Abbott estate in 1782. Beckwith engaged John Holden Greene as architect and began to build his brick house “way up there in the sticks” as his family thought. Records show that Zechariah Chafee was the mason. Beckwith’s name appeared in the Providence Directory at this address in 1829.
The main house, with kitchen wing to the east and carriage house set at right angles to it along a paved and terraced courtyard, follows an L-shaped scheme that lends itself to a hillside location. The setting of the house is one of the most dramatic in Providence. Stylistically it is characteristic of the fine houses that were built in the second and third decades of the 19th century.
The first floor of the main house is now used for meetings; the second floor, the stable and carriage house contain workrooms and a lunch room to share meals. The bow window in the library fronting on College Street was designed by Norman M. Isham after 1925. The charming gardens have recently been redesigned.