Good forArts & culture lovers
Roger Williams founded Providence in 1636 as a haven for religious exiles. Brown University arrived in 1770, when the college relocated from Warren to College Hill — a move that signaled Providence's rising dominance over Newport. Founded in 1764, Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. The university is surrounded by a federally listed architectural district holding one of America's richest concentrations of 18th- and 19th-century architecture along Benefit Street.
Quick facts
- ·In 1770, Rhode Island College (later Brown University) relocated to Providence; James Manning suggested in an anonymous letter that the Brown family contribute to the cost of erecting a college building, and in 1770 John and Moses Brown purchased a four-acre lot on Providence's East Side on behalf of the school. (Source: Wikipedia, History of Brown University)
- ·The move to Providence was protested by residents of Newport; in February 1770, Newport's William Ellery reportedly discussed with Ezra Stiles the possibility of establishing a rival college in Newport, in direct response to the relocation. (Source: Wikipedia, History of Brown University)
- ·Brown University is Rhode Island's 8th-largest employer, employing about 5,440 Rhode Island residents, with $477 million in payroll (2022) that generated $20 million in state-withheld income tax; the university spent $619 million on construction in Rhode Island between 2018 and 2022 and sources goods/services from more than 1,000 local companies and vendors annually. (Source: brown.edu/economicimpact)
- ·In 2022, Brown University purchased a 10-parcel, 4-building property portfolio from Care New England in Providence's Jewelry District (200 Chestnut St, 70 Elm St, 261 Richmond St, 300 Richmond St), intended to support future research space growth, potentially including a future integrated life sciences building; at the time, Brown had invested more than $225 million in Jewelry District development over the preceding decade (roughly 2010–2022). (Sources: brown.edu/news/2022-06-29/properties; brown.edu/news/2022-06-28/ilsb)
- ·In September-October 2023, Brown University and the City of Providence reached agreements (a Memorandum of Understanding joined by four institutions, plus a separate Brown-only Memorandum of Agreement) under which Brown's combined direct voluntary payments and community contributions to the city will total $303.3 million between 2024 and 2043; the City Council approved the agreements 9-1 on October 5, 2023. (Source: brown.edu/news/2023-10-05/providence-agreements, found via search; corroborates but corrects the framing in the cited brown.edu/about/brown-and-providence page)
More archive
2 historical photographs.
Memories
Be the first to leave a memory at Brown University – College Hill Campus.
Sign in to see memories your family has left at this place.
Editorial content compiled with AI assistance. Place details verified against public records.