Esek Hopkins House
Esek Hopkins House | |
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| Location | 97 Admiral Street, Providence, RI |
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| Coordinates | 41°50′29″N 71°25′15″W / 41.84139°N 71.42083°W |
| Built | 1756 |
| NRHP reference No. | 73000071 [1] |
| Added to NRHP | May 22, 1973 |
The Esek Hopkins House is an historic home on 97 Admiral Street (just off Route 146) on the north side of Providence, Rhode Island, United States.
Description[edit]
The oldest portion of the house is a 2½-story gable-roof block, three bays wide, with an entry in the rightmost bay. To the right of this section is a 1½-story gambrel-roofed addition, dating to the early 19th century. A single-story gable-roof ell extends from the rear of the main block.
History[edit]
Dating to 1754, the house was the home of Esek Hopkins, the first commander-in-chief of the Continental Navy during the American Revolutionary War. After Hopkins died, his daughters inherited the property, and it remained in the family for the next century.[2] Descendant Elizabeth West Gould died in 1907, and the property was donated to the City of Providence in accordance with her wishes in 1908,[2] with the stipulation that it be converted into a museum.[3] Accounts of the time recounted that the property was being restored to its original condition.[2]
The house was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.[1] Over the years, various plans were put forward over the years to convert the house into a museum.[2] They all failed for lack of resources.[2] Most recently, in 2011 the Providence Parks department put forward a plan to convert the house into a part-time museum; this has not yet come to pass.[2]
The building has suffered from inadequate maintenance by the city's parks department, and was placed on the Providence Preservation Society's "Most Endangered Properties" list in 1995, 2011[4] and again in 2015.[5]
In 2021, the Esek Hopkins house partnered with a local artist collective and a local dance company to serve as an outdoor space for dance performance and classes.[6] In September 2021, the house was the site of an original dance opera titled "The Historical Fantasy of Esek Hopkins."[7] The performance deals with the legacy of Hopkins and slavery and adds fantastical elements.[7][8]
See also[edit]
References and external links[edit]
- ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. April 15, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f Geake, Robert A. (1 August 2014). "The admiral's all but abandoned Providence homestead". The Providence Journal. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
- ^ "NRHP nomination for Esek Hopkins House" (PDF). Rhode Island Preservation. Retrieved 2014-10-14.
- ^ "2011 Most Endangered Properties". Providence Preservation Society. Archived from the original on 2014-10-17. Retrieved 2014-10-14.
- ^ "2015 Most Endangered Properties List". Providence Preservation Society. Archived from the original on 23 October 2021. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
- ^ "Outdoor Dance at The Haus of Glitter Performance Lab". AS220. AS220. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
- ^ a b McQuaid, Cate (7 September 2021). "Grappling with a painful history — and adding glam". The Boston Globe. Archived from the original on 8 September 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
- ^ "Mathew Garza, Park-ist in Residence at Esek Hopkins House". Providence Park-ist in Residence Awarded Artists. City of Providence. Archived from the original on 11 April 2021. Retrieved 9 September 2021.
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- Houses on the National Register of Historic Places in Rhode Island
- Houses completed in 1754
- Houses in Providence, Rhode Island
- 1754 establishments in Rhode Island
- National Register of Historic Places in Providence, Rhode Island
- Providence, Rhode Island Registered Historic Place stubs
- Providence, Rhode Island building and structure stubs