Category Archives: Preservation

WaterFire crib opens today

Posted on June 19, 2017 by

Barnaby Evans, the creator of WaterFire Providence, toured me through the new WaterFire Arts Center yesterday, mere hours before its ribbon-cutting scheduled for 10:30 this morning. The sun played hide and seek with the clouds at 4 yesterday, finally letting … Continue reading →

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Antidote to gentrification

Posted on June 17, 2017 by

The other day, in “Mehaffy on ‘gentrification,” I posted on that sensitive subject, directing readers’ attention to a post by urbanist Michael Mehaffy, “Beware of Voodoo Urbanism,” on the blog Livable Portland. In a comment on my post, Steven Semes, … Continue reading →

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As the WaterFire turns

Posted on June 13, 2017 by

Another day, another accolade for WaterFire Providence. Yesterday, PBS Channel 36 broadcast a segment on WaterFire for its show “Weekends with Yankee,” a 13-part series showcasing visits by plane, train, boat and foot to various exciting places around New England. … Continue reading →

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Saving the history underfoot

Posted on May 30, 2017 by

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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Own a free villa in Italy

Posted on May 26, 2017 by

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

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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Remember to save Alamo

Posted on May 11, 2017 by

The Houston Chronicle’s article “The Alamo is forgettable. A controversial new plan could change that,” by Texas Architect’s Alyssa Morris, describes a proposal to “remember” the Alamo by tinkering with its site in San Antonio. But her description of the … Continue reading →

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A tale of two PPS events

Posted on April 25, 2017 by

Over the course of four days the Providence Preservation Society hosted two events, one about Cathedral Square, which I’ll discuss first, and the other about the Jewelry District. The first event, held at the Department of Planning and Development’s offices … Continue reading →

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One dry eye at Fogarty wake

Posted on March 17, 2017 by

There’s a bar in downtown Providence, a karaoke place at Westminster and Empire, called Finnegan’s Wake. Well, today we held Fogarty’s Wake for the Fogarty Building, who’s demo began Monday. I’ve made a cottage industry of disparaging it in print. … Continue reading →

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Saving historic pavement

Posted on March 15, 2017 by

One of many fascinating narratives in Seven Ages of Paris was author Alistair Horne’s frequent return to the subject of how Paris’s streets evolved from muddy lanes awash in human waste to paved streets with gutters down the middle to … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Art and design, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments