The Wedding Cake House was built in 1867 and was last fully occupied by the famous Tirocchi sisters dressmakers 1915-1947 and the Tirocchi family. The house fell into disrepair and was abandoned sometime in the 1990's till 2016. Dirt Palace Public Projects (a local feminist arts not-for-profit) began renovating the house in 2016 to serve as a project based Artist Residency Facility that is supported by short term rentals of people visiting Providence.
The space
A queen bed & a twin daybed that can be made into an additional bed upon request. 1 private bath with tub.
This room (#1) is on the corner of Broadway and Toby streets. It is on the 2nd floor. The bus stop is right in front of this room, so sounds from bus traffic can be heard particularly in the summer.
This room features a private lavette with a toilet and sink, and a clawfoot tub with a shower right inside of the room.
There's a queen bed, as well as a daybed. Please let us know if you require the daybed to be set up as a bed (rather than a couch), and we'll prepare it before your arrival.
Guests who are interested in breakfast can fill out a breakfast form the night before to receive a light “continental-ish” breakfast between 7:30am - 10:30am. Depending on guests’ preference, breakfast may be delivered to your room, the dining room, or the outside patio at guests’ selected time.
Your stay at the Wedding Cake House helps us to support the creation of new artistic works in Providence, for which we are deeply grateful.
From local Historian Taylor Polites: “The first owner John Kendrick was an inventor whose American Supply Company dominated the global market in loom and reed harnesses, a crucial element of textile mill power looms. The c. 1867 mansion attributed to Broadway architect Perez Mason reflects the euphoric froth of new money. For a while owned by railway and button-fastener tycoon George Prentice, in 1915, the house was purchased by Italian immigrant dressmaker Anna Tirocchi.
In the elegant salons of the Wedding Cake House, Anna and her sister Laura fitted Providence’s elite in their couture creations that echoed Paris fashions. At Anna’s death in 1947, everything was wrapped in tissue paper and put away. Some forty years later, RISD Museum curators were stunned as if entering a fashion time capsule when Laura’s son invited them into the house to catalog and preserve the collection.”
The house was renovated between 2016 and 2020 by hundreds of local artisans, tradespeople, and craftspeople. Traditional and contemporary arts are incorporated into every aspect of the house, often in dialogue with the history of the site. Textiles from the Tirocchi collection provided inspiration for wall papers hand printed down the street by local artists. Central questions of the project are “what can the role of artists be in constructing contemporary understandings and interpretations of history?” and “What roles can artists play in various aspects of repair?”.
Our goal is to serve guests with interests in the arts and regional history, who want to support contemporary practices through their travel budgets.
During your stay
Currently, due to Covid, our office is restricted to staff only. However we are here! We’re generally in the office 9am - 6pm. If you have a question please feel free to knock on the door and we’ll be right with you! If you need anything outside the time frame of 9am - 6pm. There is always one “innkeeper” in the house or very close by. But please note that there is often only one staff on at a time, and sometimes they have to do things like take showers, so occasionally it may take up to 20 minutes or so to get a response.
We are committed to the safety and well-being of our guests and staff, and have enacted protocol to keep both safe. Please read the safety protocol below and feel free to ask us any questions that you may have.
Our check-in process will be in person, masked, while keeping a 6’ distance.
All guests are required to fill out a Covid-19 questionnaire regarding travel, symptoms and contact upon arrival. Guests are required to commit to protocol outlined here and acknowledge that if they do not, out of fairness to other guests, that they will be asked to leave.
Guests will be given a verbal tour of the common areas and directions to their rooms.
All guests and staff are required to wear face coverings while moving through common areas of the building at all times (hallways, dining room, kitchen)
Guests do not need to wear masks in outside common spaces (the patio, portico and lawn) if they are not around other guests.
We ask that guests keep at least 6 feet from other guests and staff as possible.
Check-out will be contactless. Upon departing, we ask guests to leave the key in the key basket outside of the reception area.
Guests who are experiencing or have been exposed to another person with any symptoms of COVID-19 within the last 14 days should contact us to reschedule their stay for a later date or to cancel. We have relaxed our cancelation policy to accommodate guests during the pandemic.
Registration Details
RE.00534-STR, expiry date: 2025-10-23
