Learn about one of the most prominent local architects who designed some of the most prominent historical buildings in the area.

The Bristol Historical and Preservation Society will host a brown bag lunch for a talk about the work of Russell Warren, Rhode Island’s own early 19th-century architect on Sunday, March 26, from noon to 2 p.m. David Harrington, in the persona of Russell Warren, will lead the discussion at the Society’s Headquarters at 48 Court Street. The society will also have objects from its collection on display that are associated with Warren and his architecture, and will feature a continuing slideshow of Warren’s local work in Bristol.

Mr. Warren was born in Tiverton and began designing and building Federal Style houses in Bristol in 1800, including the 1810 Linden Place mansion on Hope Street. He later moved to Southern Carolina for a few years before returning to Providence, working there as well as in Bristol, Warren, Fall River, New Bedford and New York. 

As architectural styles changed, so did Warren, who embraced the later Greek Revival temple house form; two of his high style examples still stand on Hope Street. Another excellent local example of his uniquely American style is the 1828 St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Warren. Examples of Warren’s work are dotted around downtown Bristol and include the very romantic Longfield, also on Hope Street, an 1848 architectural example of Warren’s later Gothic Revival Style. The society will have its dollhouse replica of Longfield on display for the event.

Artist and historian David Harrington studied architecture at Rhode Island School of Design and historic preservation as a graduate student at the University of Pennsylvania. He has become a passionate advocate of Russell Warren and most recently worked closely with the RI Historical Society, the Providence Athenaeum, and Linden Place to put together a database of the famed architect’s work from libraries and repositories here in Rhode Island and Massachusetts, as well as New York and South Carolina.

Open to the public, tickets are $10 each and a light lunch will be provided. For reservations, call the society at 401-253-7223; walk-ins are welcome. For more information, visit www.bhpsri.org.