The Antram Gray house. A 2.5 story building with brick walls, chimneys, shingle roof. Main Street is in front.
NPS image
Antram-Gray House
The Antram-Gray House, which serves as the visitor center for Roger Williams National Memorial, is located at the northeast corner of the park at the corner of North Main and Smith Streets.
It was built around 1730 on the corner of Towne (now North Main) and Smith Streets with property adjacent to the cove for a wharf. This portion of the house is one of the few structures in Providence that survive from the city's earliest period of commercial and maritime development. It is considered one of the oldest commercial buildings in Providence.
Originally built as a residence and distillery, the structure has seen many uses: apartments, grocery & dry goods shop, dressmaker's shop, hairdresser salon, restaurant, barber, and the Thomas B Gray Watch Shop. Constructed as a distillery, it was one of many in Rhode Island. Rum was a key commodity used in the trans-Atlantic slavery trade. Nearly 70% of the slavery voyages to leave the English Colonies for West Africa sailed out of Rhode Island.
When the National Park Service took ownership of the building in 1974, it was moved approximately 40 feet to the south of its original location to enable Smith Street to be widened. Today, the Antram-Gray House houses the National Memorial visitor center, interpretive exhibits, and staff offices.
