Picturesque Rhode Island by Wilfred H. Munro (Providence: J.A. and R.A. Reid, 1881) features hundreds of engravings of Rhode Island scenes. Recently, I purchased a copy of the book, and I am able to make high-quality scans of the many pictures contained in the book.
The illustrations, below are from the Providence section of Picturesque Rhode Island. They are no longer under copyright. Please feel free to use them. In the future I will post collections from other cities and towns.
View of Providence, from Prospect Terrace, p. 178
The Providence Athenaeum, p. 188, a private library
The Buildings of the Brown & Sharpe Manufacturing Company, p. 193 – now called The Foundry
The High School, p. 192 – built in 1878 on Summer Street, near the present Classical and Central High Schools
A View of Providence, from Smith’s Hill, p. 162
A View of Crystal Lake, Roger Williams Park, p. 183
The Works of the Nicholson File Company, p. 193, were just west of downtown, between the present Harris Ave and Kinsley Streets, on Acorn Street
The Butler Hospital, p. 198
A View of Exchange Place, p. 184. Providence City Hall is in the center.
The Friends School, now called Moses Brown School
The New Court House, p. 189, was near the spot of the current courthouse, but was obviously facing the East Side, since the street slopes down behind it, towards downtown.
Hoppin Homestead Building, p. 185, on Westminster Street – the top floor was the original home of the Rhode Island School of Design. Several other schools were housed in the building.
A View of Westminster Street, p. 200
For interesting old photographs of Providence landmarks, be sure to visit the Providence City Archives Photo Gallery.
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Reblogged this on Suitcase Full of Memories and commented:
Finding the city maps or illustrations of the city life during an acestory’s period are priceless. I enjoy looking at the city, seeing how the industrial section is situated, and always I try to see if I can figure out where my ancestor lived on the map. What fun.
I have the same book – it was in my great-Aunt’s things. Great illustrations and great idea to share them on your blog!
Thanks, Kristine and Wendy. Wendy, I thought of you with this book! It is rather awesome. My next trick is to try and digitize the very large map. I was surprised that it was still inside my volume, would have been so easy to lose.