For over 40 years, Preserve RI has been the owner and steward of the Philip Walker House in East Providence (c. 1724). This iconic building is one of the oldest in East Providence; and it is particularly noteworthy as a rare surviving example of an early “square-house plan”. During our ownership, Preserve RI has invested hundreds of thousands of dollars in stabilizing the seriously compromised structure, as well as a comprehensive interior and exterior restoration. These improvements have ensured that the building is structurally sound and well protected from the elements for years to come.
In recent years, the building’s use as a rental property has helped keep up with ongoing maintenance costs. Last year, after working with our Board of Trustees on future planning, we invested in a long-overdue interior rehabilitation to make Walker House an appealing place to live for new tenants.
A complicating factor in the rehabilitation was the building’s long use as a study house. To learn about the building’s construction, students of historic preservation and architectural historians had opened walls throughout the interior to examine structural components. While facilitating valuable educational understanding, these activities significantly compromised the livability of the house. The interior condition stood in the way of the building’s economic viability.
Preserve RI partnered with Shantia Anderheggen of Preservation Strategies and Heritage Restoration on a plan to document interior architectural features and undertake a scope of rehab work to bring the interior to its best condition in decades. The majority of the work focused on carpentry repairs, cleaning, painting, treating floors, plaster and drywall repairs, and installing a new, custom mantle around the central fireplace, damaged by an early structural failure. The work was completed in March of 2025. The building will soon be listed as a private rental.
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