Carrie Tower at Brown University - Providence Rhode Island
Posted by: 401Photos
N 41° 49.607 W 071° 24.264
19T E 300327 N 4633340
Carrie Tower is near the intersection of Waterman and Prospect Streets on the Brown University campus in Providence, Rhode Island. Built in 1904, it was a gift from Paul Bajnotti to honor of his wife, Carrie Mathilde Brown. Postcard circa 1950s.
Waymark Code: WM15FR3
Location: Rhode Island, United States
Date Posted: 12/29/2021
Views: 0
The postcard for this Waymark is from the 1950s. Caption: "A campanile clock tower, know to all as the CARRIE TOWER, located on the Brown University Campus on College Hill, Providence, R.I." Ektachrome by Jack Taylor. Published by The Photo Shop, Westerly and Wakefield, R.I.
Carrie Tower is at the intersection of Waterman and Prospect Streets of Providence, Rhode Island. The red brick clock tower with buff stone trim stands 95 feet tall at the northwest corner of the Quiet Green section of Front Green. The tower was a memorial gift from Paul Bajnotti to honor of his wife, Carrie Mathilde Brown, granddaughter of Nicholas Brown, for whom the University is named. You can read their love story, here.
Architect Guy Lowell of Boston was the designer and J.W. Bishop Company the builders of this English Baroque style tower. Each of the four clock faces are flanked and topped by ornate stonework produced under the direction of John L. Thorpe of Boston. Pairs of panels of fruit abut the clocks, then, upward in succession, 32 carved urns, eight capitals, four shields, and finally, four urns with flames.
A single doorway at the east side of the base allows non-public interior access. Above it the granite is engraved: "THE CARRIE TOWER - LOVE IS STRONG AS DEATH". The cornerstone of the south side is engraved: "ERECTED 1904 - GVY LOWELL ARCHITECT". The midsection of the same south side of the base is also inscribed:
A GIFT TO HONOR THE MEMORY OF
CARRIE MATHILDE DAVTER OF THE LATE NICHOLAS BROWN OF PROVIDENCE
FROM HER HVSBAND PAVL BAJNOTTI OF TVRIN ITALY
Parking on and around the Brown campus can be challenging, though on-street parking spaces along Prospect Street are immediately beside the tower. That said, the area is very walkable as it is mainly flat...so long as you stay at the top of College Hill. It's a steep drop to Downtown.
Sources:
Providence Preservation Society, Guide to Providence Architecture
Brown University, Encyclopedia Brunoniana
Postcard images via: Refried Jeans Postcards