Venue Information

The Brooklyn Coffee & Tea House was part of the Hennessy-McHale block in the historical Smith Hill district of Providence, Rhode Island. The three-and-a-half-story brick structure has a ground floor storefront. All facade windows are crowned with keystone hoodmolds. John B. Hennessey, a grocer, rented this building to the Thomas P. McHale Family. They operated a grocery store on the first floor and lived upstairs between 1874 and 1926; the McHales bought the building in 1892. In the mid-1900's it became the home of the Armenian American Civic Club.

The name Brooklyn Coffee & Tea House is inspired by Anthony Demings' artwork, focusing on one tower of the Brooklyn Bridge, built in 1883 (Cohen, C-01). In this painting, he uses the color purple, which is one of his favorite colors. Demings is mostly known for his artwork at Johnson & Wales University and other images throughout the country. His use of color gives his artwork life (Cohen, C-01). He only draws ...