Category Archives: Architecture

Audrain’s revival in Newport

Posted on September 29, 2017 by David Brussat

Last night, after my boffo lecture at Rosecliff (1902, McKim, Mead & White), I strolled down Bellevue Avenue, in the company of the Preservation Society of Newport County’s Lise Dube-Scherr, by another gem of that thoroughfare, the Audrain Building. Its … Continue reading →

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Artist-in-chief to Louis XIV

Posted on September 27, 2017 by David Brussat

Charles Le Brun (1619-1690) was “premier peintre du roi, director of the Gobelins manufactory and rector of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture.” He was also an architect. Let’s just say that he wore a number of hats. … Continue reading →

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Beauty isn’t so difficult

Posted on September 26, 2017 by David Brussat

Originally posted on Architecture Here and There:
I took this from the bridge in the photo above, looking toward the Old Town. How do they do it? Beauty. Other things being equal, people spend their discretionary time in places where…

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“Lost Prov” at Rochambeau

Posted on September 25, 2017 by David Brussat

This evening at 7, at the Rochambeau Library, readers are invited to look and listen as the author of Lost Providence explains why the library serves as a fitting example of a phenomenon the book so ardently regrets. No, the … Continue reading →

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Hometown honey in ol’ D.C.

Posted on September 24, 2017 by David Brussat

I grew up along a somewhat downscale edge of the upscale Washington neighborhood of Cleveland Park. The Bureau of Standards was nearby, and so was WTTG Channel 5, a local TV station. Our house, a relatively plain but lovable semi-detached, … Continue reading →

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“Lost Prov” and WaterFire

Posted on September 23, 2017 by David Brussat

Today at 4:30, in the brand new WaterFire Arts Center (474 Valley St.), Gene Bunnell, the author of Transforming Providence, and I will each offer a 30-minute presentation on the revitalization of Providence, culminating in Barnaby Evans’s WaterFire Providence. We’ll … Continue reading →

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C’mon baby build our brand!

Posted on September 21, 2017 by David Brussat

In 2015, seeking to demonstrate the depth of my naivete about politics in Rhode Island, I, in my role as citizen, wrote a letter to Governor Raimondo to suggest “a way to help improve the Rhode Island economy that is … Continue reading →

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‘Lost Prov’ show at PPL Wed.

Posted on September 19, 2017 by David Brussat

Tomorrow the Lost Providence road show will appear at the Providence Public Library for a slide lecture at 6:30 p.m. The real show here, however, is the exterior of the library on Washington Street, which opened in 1900, the balustrade … Continue reading →

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More on R.I. and Amazon

Posted on September 17, 2017 by David Brussat

In my Friday post “How R.I. can get Amazon” I pretty much asserted that beauty could tip the scales for Rhode Island and its capital Providence. That seems highly unlikely. How many corporate CEOs decide such things (or anything) on … Continue reading →

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How R.I. can get Amazon

Posted on September 14, 2017 by David Brussat

Amazon wants to build a second headquarters, presumably in some part of the country to balance its megapresence in Seattle, where it was founded. So, predictably, cities are lining up to bring Amazon home. Rhode Island will submit a bid. … Continue reading →

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