Rhode Island Picture Post Cards
The Turk's Head Building - Providence, Rhode Island 
(Scroll Down for Background and History)

The Post office at Thornton in Johnston Township, Providence County was in operation from  December 2, 1889 to December 31, 1927. The Post Office was disestablished in 1927 and mail services were provided by Providence.  The Thornton CDS is a standard Duplex cancel of the period.

The message on this card was written in French; the card is addressed to Canada.

Scroll Down for background history of the Turks Head Building.

Downtown Providence was formerly known as Weybosset Neck and the area was first settled in 1746 by the followers of the Reverend Joseph Snow. The area experienced a slow growth until after the British occupation and destruction of Newport, when it began a period of rapid expansion. The area is surrounded by the neighborhoods of College Hill, Federal Hill, and Smith Hill and consists of a major financial and retail district as well as some light industry. The area near Turks Head is the center of the Financial District.

The Turks Head Building stands at the intersection of Westminster and Weybosset Streets. Local Legend relates that the building received it's name because of Jacob Whitman, who owned a home on the site in the mid 1700s. His home supposedly contained a carving of a Turk on his porch and the area came to be associated by that name. When the present building was constructed on that site, a carved stone head of a Turk was included in the design. The original design of 1856 for a building on this site was for a circular building.

The building is currently headquarters for Bank Rhode Island as well as several law and financial firms.

An interesting coincidence during my search for information concerning the Turks Head building is that quite recently, (May 30, 2004) a fire caused by faulty elevator wiring damaged the top floor of the building.

SEE: Strange New England for a view of the Turk's Head Sculpture.