Benefit Street

Walk a street of restored Colonial and Victorian houses, churches and museums on Providence's College Hill.

Benefit St on College Hill, East Side · Providence, RI

About Benefit Street

Benefit Street runs along the side of College Hill and is known as the Mile of History for its restored 18th and 19th century houses, churches and museums. On a self-guided walk you pass the Providence Athenaeum, the Old State House of 1762 and the John Brown House of 1786. The street grew out of Back Street, a set of paths along the hill, and a 1959 preservation study led to the restorations you see today. The Providence Preservation Society publishes an architecture guide.

#historic street
#colonial architecture
#walking tour
#college hill
#mile of history

Printable maps

What's around here?

The closest stops to Benefit Street, ordered by straight-line distance. A few more like it, plus some different kinds of fun so you can build a full day.

Sports & Outdoors
Roger Williams National Memorial
No admission fee
A landscaped urban memorial park in downtown Providence honoring Roger Williams, a 17th-century champion of religious liberty.
Transit: reachable by public transit
Right next doorSwitch it up: Sports & Outdoors
Sightseeing
History Buff
Rhode Island State House
No admission fee
Tour a white marble capitol by McKim, Mead & White and look up at the Independent Man on its dome.
Transit: reachable by public transit
0.3 mi awayMore like this
Museums
History Buff
RISD Museum
Under $25
An art and design museum in Providence with more than 100,000 objects spanning ancient to contemporary work.
Transit: reachable by public transit
0.3 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums
Sightseeing
Slavery Memorial (Brown University)
Check prices
Outdoor sculpture by Martin Puryear on Brown's Front Green that addresses the university's 18th-century ties to slavery.
Transit: reachable by public transit
0.4 mi awayMore like this
Museums
Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology
Check prices
Brown University's teaching and research museum focused on anthropology and material culture.
0.4 mi awaySwitch it up: Museums
Sightseeing
Date Night
Waterplace Park
No admission fee
Stroll cobblestone riverwalks and Venice-style footbridges downtown, the setting for WaterFire bonfires.
Transit: reachable by public transit
0.5 mi awayMore like this