Category Archives: Architecture

Framing the classical revival

Posted on October 6, 2023 by David Brussat

Here is a post written in May of 2014. Of the major efforts within the past decade to oppose modernist urban projects or to support traditional alternatives, mentioned below, most have failed. The Gehry Eisenhower memorial opened in 2020 largely … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

In London, a laudable ruling

Posted on September 27, 2023 by David Brussat

In London a developer has been ordered to tear down a completed 23-story residential building in the Royal Borough of Greenwich, in the southeast of London, because it deviates too far from the original proposal. Residents of 204 flats will … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Development, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Orr’s gateway to heaven

Posted on September 19, 2023 by David Brussat

Traditional Building, edited by Nancy Berry, may not take the longest to get through, but of the magazines I subscribe to, it is the one I long for the most whenever it comes out. I closely peruse all of the … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Landscape Architecture | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The soggy PVDFest mess

Posted on September 13, 2023 by David Brussat

I’d like to put in a bid for downtown as the site for the next PVDFest. Mayor Smiley moved this year’s event out of downtown to the waterfront along the Providence River. Downtown is where festivals such as PVDFest should … Continue reading →

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

Farewell to McCoy Stadium?

Posted on September 4, 2023 by David Brussat

We attended the farewell fireworks for McCoy Stadium last night, dubbed “The Final Inning.” Did not get there in time to secure the wrist bands that would have assured us a seat on the playing field to watch the fireworks. … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

World cities shot from the sky

Posted on September 2, 2023 by David Brussat

Even before I started writing weekly about architecture in the Providence Journal (every Thursday), I had a collection of big, coffee-table books of various cities photographed from the sky. I would leaf through them by the hour. The books are … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Put archives in Shepard Bldg.

Posted on August 24, 2023 by David Brussat

Almost nobody has noticed that a perfect match mates two of Rhode Island’s most critical needs. With URI moving out of the Shepard Building, why not move the state archives there instead of erecting a new and inevitably ugly building … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Let’s vote on Penn Station

Posted on August 20, 2023 by David Brussat

Rebuilding Pennsylvania Station, built in 1910 and demolished in 1963, is the single act that can best help bring beauty in architecture back to the United States and the rest of the world. It would directly boost the beauty of … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 16 Comments

Industrial Trust lit up again!

Posted on August 7, 2023 by David Brussat

I don’t know how long this has been going on behind my back, but it sure does make me happy. After visiting a friend this evening and driving home in the dusk down Route 95, heading south, I got off … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Providence | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Bad advice for Wayland Sq.

Posted on July 25, 2023 by David Brussat

Wayland Square, named for Brown University’s fourth president, on land owned long ago by one of its founders, Moses Brown, is one of the most delightful neighborhoods in the city of Providence. It has fine shops and restaurants, and hundreds … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Providence | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment