RI Historical Society -- Upcoming Events

 
Saturday, October 11
Evenings of full WaterFire lightings, 5:30 p.m.
Tour departs from the
John Brown House Museum
$10 per person
Reservations requested: Dalila Goulart
(401) 331-8575 x45 or programs@rihs.org

RiverWalk: Before the Fires are Lit
After the arrival of Roger Williams in 1636, rivers shaped the life of the city of Providence. The Colonial waterfront was the site of a thriving shipping economy for a young town. Eventually, factories and railroads turned attention away from the rivers and toward the land. After the 1950s, highways and bridges covered the waterways, and the rivers were forgotten. But that was yesterday! Today, architects and city planners are creating a “new” waterfront. Once again, the rivers take center stage. And no event commands more attention than Barnaby Evans’ WaterFire. Smartly designed walkways, parks, and pedestrian bridges invite strolling, especially on summer evenings. Urban outdoor sculpture and beautiful civic and commercial buildings of varied architectural styles provide the setting for stories of Providence’s fabled past and dynamic present. This walk shares the history of Rhode Island’s capital city and the history of WaterFire.
$10 per person. Reservations requested for this tour. For schedule of WaterFire lightings: www.waterfire.org <http://www.waterfire.org/> , or (401) 272-3111. This walk is offered in collaboration with WaterFire.
 
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Sunday, October 12, 3:00 p.m.
Aldrich House
110 Benevolent Street, Providence
Free Admission, To RSVP: Dalila Goulart
(401) 331-8575 x45 or programs@rihs.org
 
Lecture: On Religious Liberty: The Moral Theology of Roger Williams
In collaboration with the John Clarke Society of Newport, Rhode Island, join us in welcoming Dr. James Calvin Davis to the Rhode Island Historical Society. Davis is a scholar on Roger Williams who specializes on Puritan moral theology. He currently teaches courses in ethics, American religion, and Christian thought at Middlebury College in Vermont. Davis argues that Williams's distinctive theological stance made possible a moral vision that maintained Christian distinctiveness while also permitting cooperation with other worldviews. The lecture will run about an hour and refreshments will be served afterwards. Reservations are requested.

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Thursday, October 16, 6:30 p.m.
Gallery Night
John Brown House Museum
52 Power Street, Providence
Free Admission, To R.S.V.P.: Dalila Goulart
(401) 331-8575 x45 or programs@rihs.org
 
If These Walls Could Talk…. Furniture Making and Buying in Early America
Tonight, come learn about historic furniture from an expert woodworker. Michael Carroll will highlight pieces of furniture in the RIHS collection to explain how a furniture buyer’s desire, and sometimes their pocketbook, influenced the final design of their purchase. He will also compare the design and construction of two nearly identical sideboards by the same maker to illustrate general methods that a joiner would follow in working with clients during the Federal period. Mr. Carroll is a woodworker who specializes in replicating fireplace surrounds from the Colonial, Georgian and Federal periods. He has also been a docent at the John Brown House Museum for several years. Reservations required.