Historic Places

Fleur-de-Lys Studio, Providence — The Fleur-de-Lys Studios (1885) in Providence is everything! A National Historic Landmark, a National Register property, a State Register property, and included in a local historic district zone. Photo: Audrey Monahan

Rhode Island is known for its many historic places--village centers and downtowns, industrial districts and farms, seaside resorts and river corridors. These places feature historic resources like sculptures, buildings, landscapes, archaeological sites, and structures. The documentation and registration of our state's historic properties forms the core of Rhode Island's historic preservation program.

At the federal level, the National Register of Historic Places (NR) lists properties worthy of preservation, and the National Historic Landmarks (NHL) represent historic resources that are nationally significant in American history and culture. Most NHL, NR, and Rhode Island State Register of Historic Places (SR) properties were first recorded by staff historians who fanned out across the state with clipboards, pencils, and cameras to collect architectural and historical information about individual properties for the State Survey. Historical and architectural information about Rhode Island's 39 cities and towns, several neighborhoods, and resource types are collected in RIHPHC Publications.