In 1635, religious dissenter Roger Williams established the settlement of Providence Plantations near the confluence of the Moshassuck and Woonasquatucket Rivers.

By the time of the American Revolution, the foot of the hill was densely populated with wharves, warehouses, shops, public buildings, and residential houses.

Benefit Street was home to several hotels, including the Golden Ball Inn which hosted noted guests such as George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Marquis de Lafayette.

In 1893, the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) moved from a space leased in Downtown Providence to its current home at the base of College Hill.

[7] Over a century later, the school would expand by relocating its main library, undergrad dormitories, and graduate studios into Downtown buildings.

Beginning in 1922, Brown University began expanding its property holdings as an attempt to increase on-campus housing for its growing student body.

[11] Brown's expansion coupled with urban renewal proposals catalyzed the establishment of local preservationist organizations which sought to maintain the dominance of historic structures in the neighborhood.

Published in 1959 the report recommended the use of both public and private investment to restore and re-historicize North Benefit street with the goal of raising property values.

The subsequent preservation efforts spearheaded by the PPS rehabilitated existing buildings, demolished decrepit structures, and relocated historic houses from other portions of Providence to the area.

This process, while lauded as a victory for historic preservation, directly resulted in the gentrification of the area, displacing the neighborhood's working class African-American and Cape Verdean communities.

[21] A sizable portion of the population are seasonal students attending the local academic institutions and residing in collegiate housing or leases.

[22] Numerous cafes, restaurants, and shops are located along Thayer Street, adjoining Brown University at Soldier's Arch.

[23] Thayer Street's Avon Cinema, dating back to the early twentieth century, is a noted College Hill landmark.