Category Archives: Urbanism and planning

Architecture of community

Posted on April 15, 2024 by David Brussat

Below is the foreward to Léon Krier’s book The Architecture of Community (2009), which I posted on my blog in 2020. Born in Luxembourg, Krier, is, of course, among the foremost thinkers about architecture and city planning. Above his foreward … Continue reading →

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Providence Place: Still alive

Posted on March 16, 2024 by David Brussat

I don’t have any deep inside knowledge (or shallow inside knowledge) of whether the downtown mall in my town, Providence Place, is going down the tubes soon. Still, my friend Will Morgan, who is also a local architecture critic, a … Continue reading →

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Attack on downtown beauty

Posted on November 15, 2023 by David Brussat

Providence Mayor Smiley has smudged a frown on the beauty of downtown. He has demolished the decorative brick and stonework at the intersection of Westminster and Dorrance streets. This is the intersection, part of former Mayor Paolino’s excellent redesign of … Continue reading →

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Anacostia waterfront in D.C.

Posted on November 1, 2023 by David Brussat

I grew up in Washington, D.C., and probably gained my affection for classical architecture from its grand public spaces. I went off to college and upon my return found a striking new waterfront along the Potomac River, parallel to M … Continue reading →

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100 mill for a new archives?

Posted on October 18, 2023 by David Brussat

The committee seeking a new home for the Rhode Island State Archives left wiggle room on whether to erect a new building for that purpose across Smith Street from the State House. It seemed from yesterday’s discussion in the Library … Continue reading →

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Attack on Wickenden St.

Posted on October 16, 2023 by David Brussat

Thayer Street lost its character over the past two or three decades, as Providence and Brown shrugged their shoulders when “the Main Street of Brown University” saw its carriage trade and mom & pop shops ousted in favor of a … Continue reading →

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Framing the classical revival

Posted on October 6, 2023 by David Brussat

Here is a post written in May of 2014. Of the major efforts within the past decade to oppose modernist urban projects or to support traditional alternatives, mentioned below, most have failed. The Gehry Eisenhower memorial opened in 2020 largely … Continue reading →

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The soggy PVDFest mess

Posted on September 13, 2023 by David Brussat

I’d like to put in a bid for downtown as the site for the next PVDFest. Mayor Smiley moved this year’s event out of downtown to the waterfront along the Providence River. Downtown is where festivals such as PVDFest should … Continue reading →

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Farewell to McCoy Stadium?

Posted on September 4, 2023 by David Brussat

We attended the farewell fireworks for McCoy Stadium last night, dubbed “The Final Inning.” Did not get there in time to secure the wrist bands that would have assured us a seat on the playing field to watch the fireworks. … Continue reading →

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Put archives in Shepard Bldg.

Posted on August 24, 2023 by David Brussat

Almost nobody has noticed that a perfect match mates two of Rhode Island’s most critical needs. With URI moving out of the Shepard Building, why not move the state archives there instead of erecting a new and inevitably ugly building … Continue reading →

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