Category Archives: Architecture

Saving the history underfoot

Posted on May 30, 2017 by David Brussat

Robin Williams, an architectural historian at the Savannah College of Art & Design, delivered a TED talk to explain “How Historic Street Pavement Modernized the City.” Williams has a pleasant manner that conveys his conviction that historic pavement is a … Continue reading →

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More on Penn Sta. rebuild

Posted on May 27, 2017 by David Brussat

The Gothamist yesterday ran a long article by Jake Offenhartz, “A Dramatic Plan to Rebuild Penn Station & Restore its Lost Grandeur,” that explains the several initiatives involved in the proposal to rebuild Penn Station in its original Beaux Arts … Continue reading →

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Own a free villa in Italy

Posted on May 26, 2017 by David Brussat

Truly! Since not everyone is logged in to the roster of programmes gushing from Italy’s bureaucracy, such as it may be, check out this from the website Hyperallergic. Yes, Italy is giving away free castles, villas and other unused historic … Continue reading →

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Unwelcome Arnold House?

Posted on May 25, 2017 by David Brussat

Is the Welcome Arnold House (circa 1785), on Planet Street in Fox Point, doomed to demolition by neglect? That’s the question posed by Catherine Zipf’s architecture column in today’s Providence Journal. She wonders whether its owner, Walter Bronhard, intends to … Continue reading →

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Sad travel to Manchester

Posted on May 24, 2017 by David Brussat

Manchester has suffered a deadly blast delivered by Islamic extremists. Twenty-two have died and many others are injured. A five-minute video revealing the city’s many lovely classical buildings, set alas amid our era’s aggressive modernism, will not quell its horror … Continue reading →

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TB on Fogarty’s demise

Posted on May 23, 2017 by David Brussat

Here is my Traditional Building blog post from a couple months ago, around the time some ardent local preservationists held a funeral for the John C. Fo- garty Memorial Building, soon after its demolition began. Soon after that its demolition … Continue reading →

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Bench press in Providence

Posted on May 23, 2017 by David Brussat

The above photo is the first on a list of benches from “14 Most Creatively Perfect Benches and Seats from All Around the World,” on the website Postize. The list of benches has gone viral, if not postal. Since I … Continue reading →

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Trip to Old City, Jerusalem

Posted on May 22, 2017 by David Brussat

Here, from GlobeTrotter Alpha, is a 15-minute video of the Old City, Jerusalem, capital of Israel, with its Jewish, Muslim, Armenian and other sections, including the Western Wall and the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. Big events there today. Most … Continue reading →

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Adam on neighborly styles

Posted on May 21, 2017 by David Brussat

In his book Classical Columns Robert Adam has an essay about one of his most enticing works, “The Sackler Library: Ancient and Modern.” It traces the influences of past and present design philosophies on his building at Oxford University. He … Continue reading →

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New view of PawSox field

Posted on May 18, 2017 by David Brussat

Yesterday, alarmed, I posted in “PawSox sock the Bucket” a drawing of the proposed new PawSox stadium in downtown Pawtucket and warned against the poor architecture it suggested might be in store for the Bucket. Today, the Providence Journal published … Continue reading →

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