Mrs. M.A. Green Tourist Home
The Bertha Hotel, the Mrs. M.A. Greene Tourist Home, and the Hilltop Inn at 54, 58 and 72 Meeting St. respectively, as depicted on the 1937 Hopkins Map.
Known Name(s)
Mrs. M.A. Green Tourist Home
Address
58 Meeting St. Providence, RI
Establishment Type(s)
Tourist Home
Physical Status
Extant
Detailed History
The Mrs. M.A. Green Tourist Home, along with the Hill Top Inn and the Bertha Hotel, formed a small community of Green Book sites on this single block of Meeting St. The M.A. Green Tourist Home appeared in The Green Book from 1939 to 1948. In most issues, the address was listed as 58 Meeting St., but occasionally, it was mistyped as 85 Meeting St. As there was no building at 85 Meeting St.--the street is interupted just east of the Hill Top Inn at 72 Meeting St. because the grade is too steep--it seems likely that visitors were able to find their way.
The M.A. Green House was run by Martha A. Greene, an African-American widow born in 1880 in Connecticut. She lived there with her daughter, Martha E. Greene, who was a maid, and lodger William P.H. Freeman. Freeman, a Rhode Island-born African-American, sold real estate for a living.
In 1948, the same year as the establishment's last Green Book listing, Martha A. closed her tourist home and moved to the nearby 83 Benefit St. with Martha E., who had opened a candy-making business. Martha A. died on October 16, 1950.
58 Meeting St. survives as part of the College Hill Historic District.
