Bryant, Stratton and Mason's Commercial College was originally housed on the third floor of the Lyceum Building at 56 Westminster Street in Providence, RI. In the late 1860's Civil War veterans seeking an education increased enrollment so rapidly that additional space was rented in the nearby Howard Building pictured here.

Providence was a bustling, prosperous city in the 1860's, well-known for its woolens, jewelry, silverware and hardware manufacturing, making it an ideal location for a college of business.