P ro sp e c t. S tr t e e. B e n t e fit. S tre e. Jenckes Street. B ro w n. S tre e t.
Barnes Street. Creighton Street. Keene Street. Bowen Street. Cushing Street.
Lovecraft’s College Hill 17 Lovecraft’s College Hill Walking Tour Walking Tour 16
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1. Market House, 4 South Main Street (1773-74): The ground floor 17. Halsey House, 140 Prospect Street (1801):15 Built by Colonel Street Thomas nes Bar Legend (see other for details) originally served asside an open-air market. This was the site of the Lloyd Halsey, this home was reputed to be haunted in Lovecraft’s Jenckes Street 18 “Providence Tea Party” in 1775. Markers at its southwest corner show time. It served as the Ward house. (CDW) 1. Market House the water marks during the gales of 1815 and 1938. (SH, CDW) 18. Jenckes Street: One of the steepest streets on College Hill, better 2. high Providence County Superior Courthouse 2. Providence County Superior Courthouse, 250 Benefit Street walked down than up... (CDW) 3. Joseph Brown House t (1924-33): ThisHopkins immense building houses the State Supreme Court, 4. Stephen House e StreeStreet 19. Cathedral of St. John, Episcopal, 271 North (1810): KeenMain 5. Superior Providence Athen æum the Courts, the Attorney General’s department, and other Poe and Lovecraft visited the graveyard here. The narrator of “The H PL 6. ListLovecraft Art Building offices. was fond of the Georgian architectural style of this Shunned House” reared an urn here in memory of his uncle. Joseph 7. Van Wickle Gates and building, which replaced anBrown earlier University Victorian courthouse. Curwen’s daughter, Ann, was christened here. (SH, CDW) 8. John Hay Library 3. Joseph Brown House, 50 South Main Street (1774): From 1791 to 20. Sarah Helen Whitman House, 88 Benefit Street (1783-92): Home 9. H.P. Lovecraft Memorial 1929 this building housed the Providence Bank, the oldest bank in of the poetess courted by Edgar Allan Poe. 10. H.P. Lovecraft Squareoldest in the country. Brown was among New England and second 21. Stephen Harris House, 135 Benefit Street (1763): “The Shunned 20 19 11. town Samuel B. Mumford House the leaders who plotted against Joseph Curwen. (CDW) House” of Lovecraft’s story and also the inspiration for the poem, 12. First Church of Christ, Street 4. Stephen Hopkins House, 15Scientist Hopkins Street (1707, 1743): hHopkins “The House”. Lovecraft’s aunt Lillian lived here in 1919–20. (SH) h c r u 14 C 13. Prospect Terrace Bowen Street was ten times governor of Rhode Island and signer of the 22. The Old Court Bed & Breakfast, 144 Benefit Street (1863): 14. Henry Sprague House Declaration of Independence. Providence townsmen met here to Originally built as a rectory for St. John’s Episcopal Church, it is now 15. 10 Barnes Street eet determine what measures to take against Joseph Curwen. (CDW) en Str a B&B. In Lovecraft’s Providence & Adjacent Parts, Henry L.P. w o B 16. Jenckes-Pratt House RogerA frequent 5. Providence Athenæum, 251 Benefit Street (1836-37): Beckwith claims this building was Lovecraft’s basis for the home of 17. Halsey House Williams haunt of Lovecraft’s, Poe visited here with Sarah Helen Whitman. Dr. Whipple in “The Shunned House” (but see number 24). (SH) National 18. Jenckes Street 13 The library owns copy of Episcopal the American Review in which Poe signed 23. The Old State House, 150 Benefit Street (1762): Rhode Island Memorial 19. Cathedral of aSt. John, below his anonymously published declared its independence from Great Britain here on 4 May 1776, et 20. Sarah Helen Whitman Housepoem, “Ulalume”. An exhibit of 21 Cushing Stre Lovecraft-related itemsHouse is currently on display here. (SH, CDW) two months before the other colonies. Joseph Curwen contributed 21. Stephen Harris 22 to the lottery which financed this building’s construction. (CDW) 6. List Art Old Building Lovecraft’s final home (see number 11)24 22. The Court(1969-71): Bed & Breakfast was from this location in 1959 to make way for this building. 24. Benjamin Cushing, Sr. House, 40 North Court Street (1737): A 23. moved The Old State House 12 “Georgian 23 more likely basis for the Dr. Elihu Whipple house, this Lovecraft claimed he could look into the stacks of the John Hay 24. Benjamin Cushing, Sr. House t ee tr S g eetin Library from the kitchen homestead with knocker and M iron-railed steps” is also the oldest 25. Shakespeare’s Head of that house. 11 26 house27 26. The Brick Schoolhouse (1901) and Brown University (1770): These gates 7. Van Wickle Gates on College Hill. (SH) 27.opened Home of Franklin andto Lillian Clark are twice a year:C.once allowD. new students in and once to 25. Shakespeare’s Head , 21 Meeting Street (1772): John Carter, w Ro 28. The Marineout. Corps Arsenal in Selected Letters shows 28 Park Lovecraft 29to Benjamin Franklin, published the Providence Gazette allow graduates A photograph 25 apprentice et Olive Stre 29. The Colonial Apartments lace to the Providence seated here and has the caption, “Lovecraft in Brooklyn”. and Country Journal here. ItDisenow foe Phome 30. Ebenezer Knight House , 20Dexter Prospect Street (1910): Named after the 8. John Hay Library Preservation Society. Joseph Curwen financially assisted the Gazette, 31. Providence Art Club Brown alumnus who was Assistant Private Secretary to Abraham and his marriage 30 notice was printed in its pages. (CDW) 31 32. Fleur-de-Lys Studio 32 The Lincoln and Secretary of State under McKinley and Theodore 26. Brick Schoolhouse, 24 Meeting Street (1769): 10Built to serve as 33. First Baptist Meetinghouse Roosevelt. This library holds the largest collection of Lovecraft a school and for town meetings, this building became the temporary manuscripts in the world, but is closed for renovations. (CDW, HD) home 33 for Brown University when it moved from Warren, Rhode u tucke Woonasq t Ri 9. H.P. Lovecraft Memorial: Erected in a1990 through the efforts of Island, to Providence in 1770. (CDW) ver S.T. Joshi, Will Murray, and the Friends of H.P. Lovecraft. 27. Home of Franklin C. and Lillian D. Clark, 161 Benefit Street: This 10. Waterplace H.P. Lovecraft Square: Just over a month ago, the intersection of was once the home of Lovecraft’s uncle and aunt. Angell 28. The Marine Corps Arsenal, 176 Benefit Street (1840): This building Parkand Prospect Streets was named in honor of Lovecraft. 11. Samuel B. Mumford House, 65 Prospect Street (1825): Lovecraft’s is the armory of the Providence Marine Corps of 9 Artillery. Brown final home (1933–37), 29. The Colonial Apartments, 175-185 Benefit Street (1929): Lovecraft B moved to this location in 1959. It served as the 8 6 home of Robert Blake in “The Haunter of the Dark”. (HD) bemoaned the fact that this “wretched ultra-modern apartment12. First Church of Christ, Scientist (1913): This site, one of the house with all urban sophistications” was built on College7Hill. highest points in Providence, was used for a warning beacon against 30. Ebenezer Knight Dexter House, 187 Benefit Street (1817): Once Indians in 1667 and against the British in 1775. It was claimed that the1 Horace B. Knowles Funeral of 5 Home, this is where the funerals University the beacon could be seen in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (CDW) Lovecraft and his aunt Lillian were held. 13. Prospect Terrace, 75 Congdon Street (1867): This small park was 31. Providence Art Club, 10 and 11 Thomas Street (1786-89 and 1791): 2 Burnsidehaunts. It is the third resting place of one of Lovecraft’s favorite Lovecraft and his aunts attended art shows here and his elder aunt, Park Providence’s founder, Roger Williams; the statue in honor of Lillian, had paintings exhibited here. (CC) za 4 Williams was erected in 1939. (CDW)Pla 32. Fleur deSouth Lys Studio, 7 Thomas Street (1885): This house, designed Main y th d Street: The address of this 14. Henry Providence Sprague House, 100 Prospect in the 16 Street -century Norman style, was built by Providence artist 3 r ne St t en Dextern Ward. Biltmore tree house was used as that of Charles (CDW) t Sof Sydney Richmond Burleigh. It also served asethe home artist Park K B nevolen ltohome upon his return from 15. 10 Barnes Street: This was Lovecraft’s Henry Anthony Wilcox in “The Call of Cthulhu”. (CC) u F New York in April 1926 until he moved into the Samuel B. Mumford 33. First Baptist Meetinghouse, 75 North Main Street (1775): The House in May 1933. It served as the home of Dr. Willett. (CDW) congregation was founded in 1638 by Roger Williams. This is the 750 250 500 16. Jenckes-Pratt House, 133 Prospect Street: Charles Dexter Ward’s oldest Baptist church in0America and the mother church of the nurse wheeled him past this “little white farmhouse”. (CDW) Baptists. 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CC—“The Call of Cthulhu” • CDW—The Case of Charles Dexter Ward • HD—“The Haunter of the Dark” • SH—“The Shunned House” For more information on H.P. Lovecraft, visit The H.P. Lovecraft Archive at: http://www.hplovecraft.com
Lovecraft’s College Hill Walking Tour 1. Market House, 4 South Main Street (1773-74): The ground floor originally served as an open-air market. This was the site of the “Providence Tea Party” in 1775. Markers at its southwest corner show the high water marks during the gales of 1815 and 1938. (SH, CDW) 2. Providence County Superior Courthouse, 250 Benefit Street (1924-33): This immense building houses the State Supreme Court, the Superior Courts, the Attorney General’s department, and other offices. Lovecraft was fond of the Georgian architectural style of this building, which replaced an earlier Victorian courthouse. 3. Joseph Brown House, 50 South Main Street (1774): From 1791 to 1929 this building housed the Providence Bank, the oldest bank in New England and second oldest in the country. Brown was among the town leaders who plotted against Joseph Curwen. (CDW) 4. Stephen Hopkins House, 15 Hopkins Street (1707, 1743): Hopkins was ten times governor of Rhode Island and signer of the Declaration of Independence. Providence townsmen met here to determine what measures to take against Joseph Curwen. (CDW) 5. Providence Athenæum, 251 Benefit Street (1836-37): A frequent haunt of Lovecraft’s, Poe visited here with Sarah Helen Whitman. The library owns a copy of the American Review in which Poe signed below his anonymously published poem, “Ulalume”. An exhibit of Lovecraft-related items is currently on display here. (SH, CDW) 6. List Art Building (1969-71): Lovecraft’s final home (see number 11) was moved from this location in 1959 to make way for this building. Lovecraft claimed he could look into the stacks of the John Hay Library from the kitchen of that house. 7. Van Wickle Gates (1901) and Brown University (1770): These gates are opened twice a year: once to allow new students in and once to allow graduates out. A photograph in Selected Letters shows Lovecraft seated here and has the caption, “Lovecraft in Brooklyn”. 8. John Hay Library, 20 Prospect Street (1910): Named after the Brown alumnus who was Assistant Private Secretary to Abraham Lincoln and Secretary of State under McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt. This library holds the largest collection of Lovecraft manuscripts in the world, but is closed for renovations. (CDW, HD) 9. H.P. Lovecraft Memorial: Erected in 1990 through the efforts of S.T. Joshi, Will Murray, and the Friends of H.P. Lovecraft. 10. H.P. Lovecraft Square: Just over a month ago, the intersection of Angell and Prospect Streets was named in honor of Lovecraft. 11. Samuel B. Mumford House, 65 Prospect Street (1825): Lovecraft’s final home (1933–37), moved to this location in 1959. It served as the home of Robert Blake in “The Haunter of the Dark”. (HD) 12. First Church of Christ, Scientist (1913): This site, one of the highest points in Providence, was used for a warning beacon against Indians in 1667 and against the British in 1775. It was claimed that the beacon could be seen in Cambridge, Massachusetts. (CDW) 13. Prospect Terrace, 75 Congdon Street (1867): This small park was one of Lovecraft’s favorite haunts. It is the third resting place of Providence’s founder, Roger Williams; the statue in honor of Williams was erected in 1939. (CDW) 14. Henry Sprague House, 100 Prospect Street: The address of this house was used as that of Charles Dexter Ward. (CDW) 15. 10 Barnes Street: This was Lovecraft’s home upon his return from New York in April 1926 until he moved into the Samuel B. Mumford House in May 1933. It served as the home of Dr. Willett. (CDW) 16. Jenckes-Pratt House, 133 Prospect Street: Charles Dexter Ward’s nurse wheeled him past this “little white farmhouse”. (CDW)
17. Halsey House, 140 Prospect Street (1801): Built by Colonel Thomas Lloyd Halsey, this home was reputed to be haunted in Lovecraft’s time. It served as the Ward house. (CDW) 18. Jenckes Street: One of the steepest streets on College Hill, better walked down than up... (CDW) 19. Cathedral of St. John, Episcopal, 271 North Main Street (1810): Poe and Lovecraft visited the graveyard here. The narrator of “The Shunned House” reared an urn here in memory of his uncle. Joseph Curwen’s daughter, Ann, was christened here. (SH, CDW) 20. Sarah Helen Whitman House, 88 Benefit Street (1783-92): Home of the poetess courted by Edgar Allan Poe. 21. Stephen Harris House, 135 Benefit Street (1763): “The Shunned House” of Lovecraft’s story and also the inspiration for the poem, “The House”. Lovecraft’s aunt Lillian lived here in 1919–20. (SH) 22. The Old Court Bed & Breakfast, 144 Benefit Street (1863): Originally built as a rectory for St. John’s Episcopal Church, it is now a B&B. In Lovecraft’s Providence & Adjacent Parts, Henry L.P. Beckwith claims this building was Lovecraft’s basis for the home of Dr. Whipple in “The Shunned House” (but see number 24). (SH) 23. The Old State House, 150 Benefit Street (1762): Rhode Island declared its independence from Great Britain here on 4 May 1776, two months before the other colonies. Joseph Curwen contributed to the lottery which financed this building’s construction. (CDW) 24. Benjamin Cushing, Sr. House, 40 North Court Street (1737): A more likely basis for the Dr. Elihu Whipple house, this “Georgian homestead with knocker and iron-railed steps” is also the oldest house on College Hill. (SH) 25. Shakespeare’s Head, 21 Meeting Street (1772): John Carter, apprentice to Benjamin Franklin, published the Providence Gazette and Country Journal here. It is now home to the Providence Preservation Society. Joseph Curwen financially assisted the Gazette, and his marriage notice was printed in its pages. (CDW) 26. The Brick Schoolhouse, 24 Meeting Street (1769): Built to serve as a school and for town meetings, this building became the temporary home for Brown University when it moved from Warren, Rhode Island, to Providence in 1770. (CDW) 27. Home of Franklin C. and Lillian D. Clark, 161 Benefit Street: This was once the home of Lovecraft’s uncle and aunt. 28. The Marine Corps Arsenal, 176 Benefit Street (1840): This building is the armory of the Providence Marine Corps of Artillery. 29. The Colonial Apartments, 175-185 Benefit Street (1929): Lovecraft bemoaned the fact that this “wretched ultra-modern apartmenthouse with all urban sophistications” was built on College Hill. 30. Ebenezer Knight Dexter House, 187 Benefit Street (1817): Once the Horace B. Knowles Funeral Home, this is where the funerals of Lovecraft and his aunt Lillian were held. 31. Providence Art Club, 10 and 11 Thomas Street (1786-89 and 1791): Lovecraft and his aunts attended art shows here and his elder aunt, Lillian, had paintings exhibited here. (CC) 32. Fleur de Lys Studio, 7 Thomas Street (1885): This house, designed in the 16th-century Norman style, was built by Providence artist Sydney Richmond Burleigh. It also served as the home of artist Henry Anthony Wilcox in “The Call of Cthulhu”. (CC) 33. First Baptist Meetinghouse, 75 North Main Street (1775): The congregation was founded in 1638 by Roger Williams. This is the oldest Baptist church in America and the mother church of the Baptists. Joseph Curwen married Eliza Tillinghast here. (CDW)
CC—“The Call of Cthulhu” • CDW—The Case of Charles Dexter Ward • HD—“The Haunter of the Dark” • SH—“The Shunned House” For more information on H.P. Lovecraft, visit The H.P. Lovecraft Archive at: http://www.hplovecraft.com
