This piece of Providence history just sold for $4.3 million. Take a look inside.

PROVIDENCE — The 10,000-square-foot Greek Revival mansion on Brown and Charlesfield streets that once belonged to Rhode Island Hospital's first benefactor, Moses Brown Ives, sold at the beginning of the month for $4.3 million.

Real estate agent Bob Walsh, with Compass, said the property, next to Brown University on College Hill at 10 Brown St., had been on and off the market multiple times over the past two years.

"We had three to four cash offers, but we just couldn't come to exact terms, as it's just a very special, a unique home," he said. "A number of people thought it was too big."

First built in 1835, it has six bedrooms, six full bathrooms, two half bathrooms, a library, a billiards room, a regular kitchen, a caterer's kitchen and a wet bar among other amenities.

"It's not in a family neighborhood," Walsh said. "You've got a museum next door."

The house is on an acre-sized lot next to the John Brown House Museum on Power and Brown streets. Across Charlesfield Street is the Jameson House and across Brown Street is the Thomas P. Ives House, which sold last year for $5.5 million.

In 2021, the house was listed for $4.7 million, and was then removed and listed again a few times before being taken off the market this summer so the former owner could use it, Walsh said.

"It was off the market when I got a phone call from an interested party, who had never seen it, but knew of it," Walsh said.

After a showing the new buyer, whom Walsh said wants to remain private, "fell in love" with the house, with a sale closing on Sept. 1.

Providence tax assessor records list the previous owner as "Steven Jacobs Trust" while previous Providence Journal coverage has listed the owner as "LMJ Trust." Tax records do not yet show the recent sale.

In addition to the house, a few pieces of the eclectic furnishings were also sold separately, although most moved with the former owner, Walsh said.

House of the Week: Moses Brown Ives in Providence

What does the inside of the house look like?

Walsh said photos of the house and the interior do not do it justice, as the interior is "absolutely meticulous."

"The library, the dining room – the walls look great, with woodwork done last year by an impeccable artist," he said.

The house is like walking into a museum, until you enter the kitchen.

"All of a sudden, it's every kitchen a man or woman is looking for in 2023," Walsh said. "White cabinets and marble slabs."

Other rooms in the house include, in the basement, a modern gym space and brick-lined wine cellar

Outside, an asphalt parking lot off of Brown Street was replaced with a cobblestone courtyard meant to look like they are from the 1900s, which means stones placed further apart than modern masonry trends, which also makes it a little tricky for people wearing high heels.

House electronics can be controlled from anywhere

For years, the house has been wired to be a "smart" home, with most lights, speakers and heating and cooling able to be controlled remotely.

The entire house, and property, is also wired with speakers.

While it took Walsh a long time to turn on all the lights in all four stories of the house for a showing, when he would leave for the day, it just took the push of one button.

The history of the Moses Brown Ives House

The Moses Brown Ives House went through three major phases, as denoted on its historical marker: 1853, when it was first built; 1867, when it was remodeled and the entrance was moved to Brown Street; and 1898 when a sweeping porch was added to the front, according to the Providence Preservation Society's website.

The house passed from the Ives family to the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island in 1897. It was the bishop's residence until the 1990s, according to the Providence Preservation Society.

The diocese sold it in 2007 to Bristol native and former Upserve CEO Angus Davis, according to a news article in Rhode Island Monthly.

Davis sold it in 2016 for $2.8 million, according to Providence tax assessor records.

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Reach Wheeler Cowperthwaite at wcowperthwaite@providencejournal.com or follow him on Twitter @WheelerReporter.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Moses Brown Ives mansion in Providence sells for $4.3 million