Providence Attractions

John Brown House

The three-storey mansion on Power Street, designed by Joseph Brown for his brother John, in 1786, was once described by John Quincy Adams as 'the most magnificent and elegant private mansion that I have ever seen on this continent'. Indeed the formal Georgian style mansion is breathtaking, with its elaborate woodwork, French wallpaper and 18th-century locally made furnishings. The house also features silver and decorative oriental objects d'art, gathered by John Brown who made his fortune trading with China, as well as the slave trade.

Address: 52 Power Street; Website: www.rihs.org/Museums.html; Telephone: (401) 273 7507; Opening time: Tours Tuesday to Friday from 1.30pm, Saturday from 10.30am (April to December), and from 10.30am on Friday and Saturday only (January to March); Admission: $8 (adults), $4 (children 7-17)