Fodor's Expert Review First Baptist Church in America

This historic house of worship was built in 1775 for a congregation originally established in 1638 by Roger Williams and his fellow Puritan dissenters. The writer H. P. Lovecraft attended Sunday school here briefly as a child, and the church now hosts the kickoff of NecronomiCon Providence, an international festival celebrating Lovecraft and other creators of "weird fiction, art, and academia." Architecture and design buffs will appreciate the 185-foot steeple, erected in 3½ days, as well as the auditorium's large crystal chandelier from Ireland, installed in 1792. Self-guided tour booklets are available in multiple languages.