Old State House, Providence

This brick colonial building on Benefit Street in Providence served as one of Rhode Island's statehouses from 1762 until the current marble capitol opened in 1904. It was here in May 1776 that the colony's assembly renounced allegiance to the British crown, a formal declaration of independence made two months before the national one. The Georgian structure with its balustraded roof and cupola later served as a courthouse. Restored and interpreted, it recalls the era when the small colony helped lead the drive toward American self-government.