The Providence Athenæum

This is one of three architectural drawings by William Strickland (1788-1854) for the design of the newly incorporated Providence Athenæum in 1836. The original construction cost $18,955.76 and was built on land donated by Moses Ives Brown and his family, who donated $10,000 to the library and stipulated that the edifice be constructed of stone or granite. Strickland designed a classical Greek temple of granite in honor of the Athenæum’s patron goddess, Athena.

The Providence Athenæum is the only known building designed by Strickland in New England. He grew up in Philadelphia and was one of the first American-trained architects. His major contribution to nineteenth-century architecture was his inauguration of Greek Revival, a movement that dominated American architecture from 1820 to 1850.

Lancaster, Jane. Inquire Within: A Social History of the Providence Athenæum Since 1753. Providence Athenæum, 2003, pp. 51-55.

"History/Our Building." The Providence Athenæum, 2019, www.providenceathenaeum.org/about/history/the-building/. Accessed 21 June 2019.

Jordy, William H. and Christopher P. Monkhouse. Buildings on Paper: Rhode Island Architectural Drawings, 1825-1945. Providence, Bell Gallery, List Art Center, Brown University, 1982, pp. 20-22.