I was planning on going to the ocean this year for vacation, but had to postpone my trip for various reasons. However, I'm half tempted to visit Lovecraft's home town some day before I die. Has anyone ever tried to make the rounds of Lovecraft's various residences in Rhode Island? I was wondering if his house on Angell Street (sp.?), as well as the others, are still standing? It seems like it would be amusing to just get a hotel room there for a week and try to make the rounds, and find the various places he mentions in his letters, travelogues, etc. But I have no idea how much of that world is still intact, and whether it would be worth the effort and expense. Also, is there any kind of itinerary already in existence, or anything like a formal "Lovecraft Tour" that you can sign up for?

Dexterward Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I was planning on going to the ocean this year for
> vacation, but had to postpone my trip for various
> reasons. However, I'm half tempted to visit
> Lovecraft's home town some day before I die. Has
> anyone ever tried to make the rounds of
> Lovecraft's various residences in Rhode Island? I
> was wondering if his house on Angell Street
> (sp.?), as well as the others, are still standing?
> It seems like it would be amusing to just get a
> hotel room there for a week and try to make the
> rounds, and find the various places he mentions in
> his letters, travelogues, etc. But I have no idea
> how much of that world is still intact, and
> whether it would be worth the effort and expense.
> Also, is there any kind of itinerary already in
> existence, or anything like a formal "Lovecraft
> Tour" that you can sign up for?


I've not had the plaesure myself, but from what I understand, there are still several sites connected with Lovecraft which can be visited, though his birthplace was long ago torn down and at least one of his other homes has since been moved. As for itineraries and the like, probably the most well-known is that of Henry L. P. Beckwith, Jr.:

[en.wikipedia.org]

You may also find things of interest here:

[www.baharna.com]

Good luck, and enjoy!

Dexterward Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I was planning on going to the ocean this year for
> vacation, but had to postpone my trip for various
> reasons. However, I'm half tempted to visit
> Lovecraft's home town some day before I die. Has
> anyone ever tried to make the rounds of
> Lovecraft's various residences in Rhode Island? I
> was wondering if his house on Angell Street
> (sp.?), as well as the others, are still standing?

The house where HPL was born, on 454 Angell Street, was torn down in 1961, but his other homes are still standing (although 66 College Street has been moved to 59 (?) Prospect Street). There are also a great number of other places of interest, such as "The Shunned House" and the house where Charles Dexter Ward would have lived.

The Beckwith book that jd mentioned is good; I'd also recommend <i>Off the Ancient Track</i> by Jason C. Eckhardt (it's somewhat newer, but much slimmer).

Here is a self-guided Lovecraft walking tour...

[www.hplovecraft.com]

I visited Providence in 2007 and was lucky enough to have S.T. Joshi give me a guided Lovecraft tour. There were quite a few locations you could visit and are included in the above walking tour.

As for Lovecraft's grave, a local brought me there. He also took me to a really old Irish Pub and pointed to tunnels in the back that lead up to the street just like in one of Lovecraft's stories.

If you are into Lovecraft, you should definitely visit Providence. So much of his stories are based on actual buildings, streets, and history that those stories really come to life when you walk around and check out the locations!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11 Aug 08 | 01:12PM by Eldritch Frog.

Thanks for the links guys, that's very helpful. I'm sorry to hear that 454 Angell Street is no more, but I suppose Eldritchfrog must still have found much of interest with the Joshi tour. Assuming I won't have the good fortune to find such a knowledgeable guide, the books and websites sound like they'll do a good job of highlighting the main points of interest. And if I'm lucky, perhaps they'll even let me look through the telescope at the Brown Observatory!

Martinus is absolutely correct when he states that Lovecraft's birthplace (454 Angell Street) was demolished back in 1961, but Lovecraft's other three homes in Providence still exist. As Eldritch Frog pointed out, my own Lovecraft's College Hill Walking Tour covers most of the Lovecraftian points of interest in Providence. Other significant points of interest that lie beyond this map include Lovecraft's home at 598 Angell Street (where he lived from 1904 to 1924), the Ladd Observatory (which is open to the public on Tuesday nights), and Lovecraft's grave in the Phillips plot in Swan Point Cemetery (on the east side of the intersection of Pond Avenue and Avenue B).

Not to dissuade you from visiting Providence, but I should point out that you could visit all of these points of interest in a single day. When you go, plan to spend some time simply exploring on your own. You'll get a better sense of what Lovecraft saw in New England by rambling around it (like he did) rather than visiting specific places. I just got back yesterday from my tenth trip to New England, and my favorite days were spent driving around the backroads of Rhode Island in search of obscure places that Lovecraft mentions in passing in his letters. If you've got any other questions about Lovecraftian New England, don't hesitate to contact me.

Donovan K. Loucks
Webmaster, The H.P. Lovecraft Archive

Good to see you here! I love your website -- discovered it on my first visit to the Internet, and have been looking in on it almost weekly since then.
:-)

Yrs
Martin

Yes, I did visit both of these. You should definitely put the Ladd Observatory, Angell Street, and his grave on your list of sites to visit.

Also you may want to see if you can view the manuscripts of Lovecraft. They are held at John Hay Library. I spent an hour browsing through some of his letters and happened across a sketch by Lovecraft of a monument that I took a picture of earlier that week.

I also strongly suggest you check out the RISD Art Museum. It is a nice collection which includes pieces from Asia!

Since Providence is a college town, you can easily find great indie restaurants and theaters!

Providence makes an excellent vacation for any Lovecraft fan!

> Other significant points of interest that lie
> beyond this map include Lovecraft's home at 598
> Angell Street (where he lived from 1904 to 1924),
> the Ladd Observatory (which is open to the public
> on Tuesday nights)

I, too, had the rare opportunity to visit Providence and have S. T. (who was at John Hay for ye week-end working on some CAS papers -- which he shew'd us) conduct an exhaustive walking tour of Lovecraft's homes. The finest and moft thrilling episode of my life -- the moment of pure Lovecraftian ecstasy -- was standing in front of #10 Barnes Street and listening to S. T. declaim how the house should be an American historical site. I took with me, on this tour, my copies of all three of ye Penguin Lovecraft editions and my pb edition of FUNGI FROM YUGGOTH & OTHER POEMS -- into which I scribbled, "4:33 p.m. -- 23 Oct 1707 -- standing with S. T. Joshi in front of #10 Barnes St., where HPL wrote ye FUNGI." That was it -- the golden moment of my entire life. I have a photo of me reverently touching my hand to the "10" of #10 Barnes Street as ye back cover of the next issue of my EOD apazine, IDIOT CHAOS. After the walking tour we went to Federal Hill and ate Italian food in ye district wherein "The Haunter of the Dark" is set. There is nothng, for the Lovecraftian soul, like Providence. How I wish someone wou'd resurrect ye NecrnomiCon. To attend a Lovecraft convention IN PROVIDENCE -- an, be still mine eldritch heart!!

"I'm a little girl."
--H. P. Lovecraft, Esq.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 29 Jan 09 | 01:18AM by wilum pugmire.