Category Archives: Providence

Blast from past: Casino at Waterplace

Posted on June 5, 2014 by David Brussat

Back when a casino was proposed for the Rhode Island town of West Greenwich, I wrote a column that bears rereading in light of the proposal to turn the Newport Grand slots shed into a genuine casino. By the way, … Continue reading →

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Union Studio enchantment

Posted on June 4, 2014 by David Brussat

The sketch above really threw me for a loop a while back, during the evolution of the 257 Thayer St. project, when Gilbane Properties (or Development) gave the flawed original design to Union Studio Architects in downtown Providence. I visited … Continue reading →

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Gilbane politely objects

Posted on June 3, 2014 by David Brussat

Robert V. Gilbane of Gilbane Properties is developer of residential apartments at 257 Thayer St., a new building that replaces nine old houses, which are gone. Construction has begun on the building. Bob objected to my portrayal, in last week’s … Continue reading →

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Don’t just shrug off horrid hotel plan

Posted on May 29, 2014 by David Brussat

What’s that word these days that articulates a shrug of the shoulders? Meh. The day after Memorial Day, The Journal reported a proposed 170-room “premium-branded upscale extended-stay” hotel for Fountain Street, in downtown Providence. To be razed was the Fogarty … Continue reading →

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Providence Opera House

Posted on May 28, 2014 by David Brussat

I had the pleasure of foisting my viewpoint upon a captive audience at a recent meeting of the Providence Netopian Club. For the uninitiated, which is surely almost everyone, Rhode Island founder Roger Williams, the father of religious (or “soul”) … Continue reading →

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Carpionato bids on 195

Posted on May 20, 2014 by David Brussat

Through WordPress’s blogger data tool I noticed that interest in a post from months ago had spiked, and then I saw that its subject, the proposal made by Carpionato Group last year to build on much of the vacant Route 195 land … Continue reading →

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Blast past: Evolution on Thayer Street

Posted on May 19, 2014 by David Brussat

Here is a column I wrote more than 20 years ago about Thayer Street and the denizens thereof. I don’t even want to begin to start reflecting on the nature of its changes since then. Many readers will have their … Continue reading →

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Life on Thayer Street

Posted on May 18, 2014 by David Brussat

My family dined al fresco on Thayer Street this evening. Thayer is the main street of Brown University on College Hill, in Providence. We arrived, sat down, got out our mobile media, and noticed a party under way on a … Continue reading →

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Gingerly in Brooklyn

Posted on May 14, 2014 by David Brussat

The house above, in the Bay Ridge section of Brooklyn, is regarded, according to this piece about the gingerbread on Curbed.com, as New York City’s most charmingly adorable “fairy tale” residence. But it has been sitting on the market, watching … Continue reading →

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Beauty isn’t so difficult

Posted on May 13, 2014 by David Brussat

How do they do it? Beauty. Other things being equal, people spend much of their discretionary time in places where it is enough merely to be there to feel pleasure beyond what can normally be felt at home. Building beauty … Continue reading →

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