Category Archives: Architecture

The Journal’s angry editorial

Posted on May 17, 2018 by David Brussat

The Providence Journal today published an editorial, “Saying no to a bold future,” that castigates opponents of the proposed Fane tower as “insiders,” a term usually applied to those who manipulate the system to benefit the few at the expense … Continue reading →

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Not over till fat lady sings

Posted on May 16, 2018 by David Brussat

High-fives aplenty greeted last night’s vote by the City Plan Commission to urge the city council to reject the Fane tower. The commission wisely ignored its staff’s argument that a 600-foot tower in a 100-foot zone is consistent with the … Continue reading →

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Steampunk vid of New York

Posted on May 15, 2018 by David Brussat

Came across this film, “The Old New World,” of New York and bits of Boston and Washington, D.C. (the Capitol), in about 1931, on the Kuriositas website. It is the Old New World Project run by Alexey Zakharoff. It is … Continue reading →

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House of (52,000) Cards

Posted on May 14, 2018 by David Brussat

Here’s something from CBS Evening News involving architecture – a Harvard grad named Bryan Berg who builds houses of cards. He may not have (as he admits) a full deck but he certainly uses more than one of them to … Continue reading →

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Plymouth after World War II

Posted on May 13, 2018 by David Brussat

Mark Motte, author with Francis Leazes of Providence: The Renaissance City, urged me to view an old documentary on video called “How We Live Now,” filmed in 1946, about the effort to rebuild Plymouth, the most heavily bombed city per … Continue reading →

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Sir Roger Scruton on beauty

Posted on May 12, 2018 by David Brussat

Here is a lovely video of the British philosopher and architectural theorist Roger Scruton called “Why Beauty Matters.” The usefulness of beauty in uplifting human lives serves as the bottom-line rationale for my book Lost Providence. But if you have … Continue reading →

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See blogs while I’m in D.C.

Posted on May 11, 2018 by David Brussat

Readers who get my blog posts by email from my blog lists (including folks on TradArch and Pro-Urb) may visit my blog directly to get my posts while I’m in the Washington area these next few days. Just type: Architecture … Continue reading →

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Come visit these videos

Posted on May 11, 2018 by David Brussat

[Today, I fly off for several days in my hometown, the District of Columbia. While I am away, instead of giving my blog a vacation, I will steal some old posts (all featuring videos) from my archives. Enjoy. Back next … Continue reading →

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I-195 eastern front heats up

Posted on May 10, 2018 by David Brussat

The I-195 Redevelopment District Commission hosted the latest skirmish in the war among three developers to win the commission’s approval to build on the east bank of the Providence River. I arrived at the public hearing but had to leave … Continue reading →

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Village blog or baluster blog

Posted on May 7, 2018 by David Brussat

The delightful LeveVeg blog – meaning “way of life” in Norwegian – replied to my recent expression of pleasure at the illustration on top of the Village Forum blog. It is a painting of a distant village, reproduced at the … Continue reading →

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