Wheaton & Anthony Building (Second), 75 Westminster Street, Providence, Providence County, RI

Significance: Built in 1872, the Second Wheaton and Anthony Building was designed by the locally prominent architectural firm of Stone and Carpenter in the Second Empire style. One of the earliest cast iron faced buildings in the city, it is now one of only a handful which remain. It once housed a number of professionals, Puritan Life Insurance Co., the Builders Exchange (a group of contractors), Westminster Bank and Tilden Thurber, the large jewelry concern. It was the first building in the city to have an elevator, which is still in place. An extremely handsome example of later 19th Century commercial architecture, the building's high architectural quality is a function of the plastic wall articulation and the unusual roof treatment. Its visual quality is enhanced by its juxtaposition to the adjacent buildings and, in turn, the streetscape and the historic character of the abutting Custom House District are much enhanced by the Wheaton and Anthony Building.
Survey number: HABS RI-378
Building/structure dates: 1872 Initial Construction