Tours

Continuing North on Hope you will find many exquisite examples of Federal and Greek Revival homes. Most of the homes are still privately owned. The Rockwell House is one example of the Federal-style home. The original owner was first Grand Marshall of the Fourth of July Parade and, after various owners Charles Rockwell, owner of Cranston Worsted Mills, bought the property. Numbers 617 and 647 Hope, both designed by Russell Warren, are the two remaining Greek Revivals on Hope Street.

Turn left on Franklin Street which leads to Independence Park, once the center of the booming shipping trade. Over a century later, ships were replaced by rails, and trains would depart from the former depot in what is now Independence Park to take passengers on their 14.5 mile journey to Providence.

Continuing on Thames Street, you'll see Thames Street Landing, a renaissance of the wharf area, and home to interesting shops and eateries and The Bristol Harbor Inn. In the late 1700's, the DeWolf family developed this area for their various shipping interests. The buildings included the Bank of Bristol (Bristol's first bank) and the DeWolf warehouse, constructed of African stone. Rockwell Waterfront Park is a small park left to Bristol by Charles Rockwell. Adjacent is Prudence Island Ferry Landing, providing service to nearby Prudence Island. The Firefighters Memorial Park is dedicated to those of Bristol who have lost their lives.