Providence County Courthouse

The Providence County Courthouse (also known as the Frank Licht Judicial Complex) is a Georgian Revival building in the College Hill neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island. The building contains the state's court of last resort, the Rhode Island Supreme Court, and the local trial court, the Providence County Superior Court.

Providence County Courthouse
General information
TypeMunicipal
Location250 Benefit Street,
Providence, RI 02903, United States
Coordinates41°49′31.76″N 71°24′24.84″W
Construction started1926
Completed1930
Height
Roof216 ft (66 m)
Technical details
Floor count7
Design and construction
ArchitectJackson, Robertson & Adams

At a height of 216 ft (66 m), the courthouse is the 11th-tallest building in the city.

History

Town house (1723-1875)

The lot currently occupied by the courthouse has been used for governmental and judicial purposes since the since the 18th century. In 1794, the city purchased a building at the southern corner of College and Benefit Streets originally built in 1723 by the First Congregational Society for use as a meeting house. Known as the "town house," this building hosted public meetings and was occasionally used as a courthouse.[1][2]

First Providence County Courthouse (1877-1924)

In March of 1875, the property was condemned and a city commission began work to construct a new public building at the site. The resulting courthouse, was designed by Stone & Carpenter in the High Victorian Gothic style.[3] Work on the structure began in July of 1875 and was completed in December of 1877.[2]

Second Providence County Courthouse (1924)

In 1923, a public commission began work to erect a new courthouse at the site. Among the reasons cited for the construction of a new building were the prior structure's inadequate space and lack of fireproofing.[2]

The second and current courthouse was erected between 1924-1933 following a design by Jackson, Robertson & Adams.[4]

As part of the construction process, the historic Stephen Hopkins House was moved from its original location on the lot to an adjacent property.

  • Old Town House (1723)
  • First courthouse (1875), designed by Stone & Carpenter
  • The current courthouse building, as it appears today.
  • Spire of the current courthouse building
  • View of the courthouse from across the Providence River

Architecture

The building is constructed from red brick with granite and limestone trim. The building's exterior is designed in the Georgian Revival style while the interior follows an iteration of the Federal style.

Architectural historian McKenzie Woodward lauds the building for its contextualism, which defers in its design to the buildings surrounding. Woodward also commends the fragmentation of the building's large mass into "visually digestible units".[5]

See also

References
  1. Tardif, Elyssa; Peggy, Chang; Society, Rhode Island Historical (2013-06-10). Providence's Benefit Street. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4396-4347-1.
  2. "Providence County Courthouse". Library Archive. 1933-01-01.
  3. McGowan, Louis H.; Brown, Daniel (2006). Providence. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7385-4462-5.
  4. Project, Federal Writers' (2013-10-31). The WPA Guide to Rhode Island: The Ocean State. Trinity University Press. ISBN 978-1-59534-237-9.
  5. Woodward, Wm McKenzie. Guide to Providence Architecture. 1st ed. United States: 2003. ISBN 0-9742847-0-X. p. 157.


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