PROVIDENCE, RI -- The State of Rhode Island is getting a $750,000 federal grant to preserve the Old State House and Parade in Providence.

The research and restoration project is supported by a Semiquincentennial Grant from the Historic Preservation Fund administered by the U.S. Department of Interior’s National Park Service.

Semiquincentennial Grants commemorate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. The federal grant for the Old State House and Parade is one of 20 cultural resource preservation projects across 14 states that received funding this year.

Located along Benefit Street in Providence, Rhode Island’s Old State House was constructed in 1760-1762 and served as a meeting place for colonial and state lawmakers. The site hosted many historic events, including the infamous meeting on May 4, 1776 when Rhode Island’s General Assembly declared its independence from the British Crown.  The building was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1970 and designated as a U.S. National Historic Landmark District Contributing Property that same year.

The $750,000 Semiquincentennial Grant from the National Park Service’s Historic Preservation Fund will be used for research and restoration at the site.

“I am pleased to help deliver federal funding to preserve the Old State House, one of just six surviving Colonial-era state houses in America.  This federal funding will support research and restoration efforts.  It will compliment continued state restoration investments in saving this historic, architectural, and cultural gem,” said U.S. Senator Jack Reed, a senior member of the Appropriations Subcommittee that oversees federal funding for the National Park Service.  “As the nation gears up to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary, it is important that we preserve our past.”

“As Americans gear up to celebrate our country’s 250th birthday, I am grateful for this recognition of Rhode Island’s central role in our early history,” said U.S. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse. “This federal funding will ensure that the historic Old State House and Parade can be restored to its former glory and enjoyed for generations of Rhode Islanders to come.”

“The Old State House and Parade is an important part of Rhode Island’s heritage. We’re grateful to the Department of the Interior and the National Park Service for their investment in this revitalization project to help us preserve and celebrate our State’s history,” said Governor Dan McKee.

“The Semiquincentennial is an opportunity for the nation to recognize and reflect on the diverse cultures, events, and places that have helped shape our country,” said NPS Director Chuck Sams. “Through the Semiquincentennial Grant Program, the National Park Service is supporting projects that showcase the many places and stories that contributed to the evolution of the American experience.”

The red brick and brownstone Old State House has played a pivotal role in the political life of Rhode Island for more than 260 years.  Its historic landscape, the Parade, is a sloping lawn bisected by a central walk that descends to brownstone steps on North Main Street. This was an important gathering place, where Rhode Islanders heard an orator announce the end of the war in 1783 and where they welcomed the Marquis de Lafayette in 1824.  When the new State House opened on Smith Hill in 1901, the building became home to the Sixth District Court. Today it is headquarters of the State preservation commission, Rhode Island’s agency for historical preservation and heritage programs.

The Semiquincentennial grant will support both research and restoration. In-depth primary research is expected to reveal new information about the construction of the Old State House and Parade and will inform the preparation of an updated nomination to the National Register of Historic Places. Preservation activities focused on the building’s public, interior spaces include plaster repair, painting and flooring. The Parade’s historic landscape features will be restored, including the ashlar retaining wall, brownstone stairs, wrought-iron fence and cobblestone-lined gutters. From procurement of consultants to final inspection of the work, the project is expected to be completed by fall 2025.

“The work funded by this grant demonstrates the State’s ongoing commitment to restoring the Old State House and Parade,” said RIHPHC Executive Director Jeffrey Emidy. “Research will provide new information about the people who constructed the building and its uses over two and a half centuries. This project will ready the Old State House and Parade for events with the RI250 Commission and others in commemoration of the Semiquincentennial, when we share the stories of Rhode Island’s role in the founding of our nation.”