Author Archives: David Brussat

Unknown's avatar

About David Brussat

This blog was begun in 2009 as a feature of the Providence Journal, where I was on the editorial board and wrote a weekly column of architecture criticism for three decades. Architecture Here and There fights the style wars for classical architecture and against modern architecture, no holds barred. History Press asked me to write and in August 2017 published my first book, "Lost Providence." I am now writing my second book. My freelance writing on architecture and other topics addresses issues of design and culture locally and globally. I am a member of the board of the New England chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art, which bestowed an Arthur Ross Award on me in 2002. I work from Providence, R.I., where I live with my wife Victoria, my son Billy and our cat Gato. If you would like to employ my writing and editing to improve your work, please email me at my consultancy, dbrussat@gmail.com, or call 401.351.0457. Testimonial: "Your work is so wonderful - you now enter my mind and write what I would have written." - Nikos Salingaros, mathematician at the University of Texas, architectural theorist and author of many books.

Rebuild Key Bridge as it was

President Biden has said he will rebuild the collapsed Francis Scott Key Bridge, over the Papatsco River leading into the Port of Baltimore, at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. The bridge, completed in 1977, was hit by a freighter … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Art and design | Tagged , , , , | 19 Comments

Providence Place: Still alive

I don’t have any deep inside knowledge (or shallow inside knowledge) of whether the downtown mall in my town, Providence Place, is going down the tubes soon. Still, my friend Will Morgan, who is also a local architecture critic, a … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Wake up, Little Compton

Little Compton’s town council will soon receive advice from this corner that was good when originally delivered in 2003, in my Journal column of Aug. 28 of that year as part of my “Outside Providence” series. The series looked at … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Blast from past, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Save Pawtucket’s Ott Mansion

The headline of this post is the same as when I wrote it as my weekly column for the Providence Journal in 2008. The Read-Ott Mansion was at a most dire risk of demolition then, and remains so now. Its … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Preservation, Rhode Island | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Best trad buildings of 2023

It is past time for my annual roundup of best buildings from 2023. I confess, the time blew right past me. Maybe it is not too late now, but I am too busy (and lazy) to wrap it all up … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture | Tagged , , , , , | 9 Comments

Gaza as we’ve never seen it

I occasionally devote a blog to cities devastated by war or natural disaster, showing how beautiful the place used to be (and to some extent may still be) as disaster consumes its ancient buildings. In most cases, the allure of … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture | Tagged , , , , | 11 Comments

Behold, NYC’s Tudor City

I had lunch today (by now, yesterday) at Maven’s, a newly opened Jewish delicatessen in that plaza just off Hope Street as it becomes East Avenue, in Pawtucket. I’ve eaten there once before with my wife, Victoria – delicious, though … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History | Tagged , , , , , | 10 Comments

Losing Providence, bit by bit

The Downtown Design Review Committee met a couple of days ago to consider applications to demolish a couple of buildings on Chestnut Street and Richmond Street in the Jewelry District. I looked them up to see whether I should be … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Development, Preservation | Tagged , , , | 9 Comments

Don’t demo this sad trio

Someone has it in for a row of decent old houses on Angell Street. Specifically, they are Nos. 209, 211 and 217. They should be preserved. Their preservation should be second nature at every level of policy in Providence. Yet … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Development, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Attack on downtown beauty

Providence Mayor Smiley has smudged a frown on the beauty of downtown. He has demolished the decorative brick and stonework at the intersection of Westminster and Dorrance streets. This is the intersection, part of former Mayor Paolino’s excellent redesign of … Continue reading

Posted in Architecture, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , | 7 Comments