Up the hill on the east side of Benefit Street is a remarkable and distinguished group of four large houses built in a cluster by rich China Trade merchants during the heyday of Providence's sailing ships, before manufacturing became the source of huge fortunes. It is one of only a few similar clusters of houses of this age, scale, quality, and integrity that remain in such close proximity in this country. All stand on ample, landscaped lots, their main blocks three-storied, cubic in massing, covered with hipped roofs, with later attached ells and outbuildings.