when it served as the colonial capital. Surviving buildings date from the last years of the 17th century. The White Horse Tavern has stood on the same site since 1652, with the current building dating to 1673. The Wanton-Lyman-Hazard House, built by at least 1697, is the city's oldest house museum. Most of those early homes were simple clapboard structures in vernacular English styles that the colonists had adapted to the locally available materials. Wood was also used to build Trinity Church, whose tall white spire is one of the city's most distinctive landmarks. In the early 1730s, efforts to bring some formal planning to Newport's development resulted in the construction of two major brick buildings showing heavy influence of the Georgian style then being popularized in London by Sir Christopher Wren. The Old Colony House and the Brick Market stand at opposite ends of Washington Square, then known as the Parade, and were meant to make it the kind of dignified public space found in English cities of the period. Religious tolerance led to the immigration of Quakers from Massachusetts, where they were regarded as heretics, and communities of Sephardi Jews from Portugal. These left their mark with the Great Friends Meeting House on Marlborough Street, the oldest house of worship in Rhode Island, built in 1699, and Touro Synagogue, the oldest in the Western Hemisphere. The Quakers settled heavily in Easton's Point, building many of the wooden houses there and naming many of its streets after trees. The city prospered as it became a more important port, and eventually sea captains who had made their fortunes began to settle down and build larger houses for themselves. One of these homes, Hunter House, another NHL located along the water in Easton's Point, is preserved today for its quality cabinetry, much of it originally manufactured in Newport. 19th century After independence the city lost some cachet when Providence, the wartime state capital, became the main capital. Still, the legislature continued to meet at the Colony House every other session, and held a ceremonial meeting there every April on 'Lection Day, when the results of the state's March elections were announced and the winners sworn in. It drew crowds from all over the state, and was Newport's major holiday for much of the 19th century. Throughout most of that century, the downtown area remained a major, although somewhat neglected, port area,