Category Archives: Urbanism and planning

Column: “The Rise and Fall of Penn Station”

Posted on February 13, 2014 by David Brussat

Before Pennsylvania Station opened in 1910, travelers headed for New York on the Pennsylvania Railroad, owned by the largest company in the world, had to debark in New Jersey and cross the Hudson River by ferry to Manhattan. It’s hard … Continue reading →

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Old videos: Two from 1940s Rhode Island

Posted on February 9, 2014 by David Brussat

Two old film clips of Rhode Island take viewers on tours of the nation’s smallest state – the smallest but not the least significant! The first is a propaganda film focusing on the home front and its values; the second … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Old Video, Preservation, Providence, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Column: Driving down Market Street in 1906

Posted on February 6, 2014 by David Brussat

San Francisco before the Great Earthquake of 1906 was a lively city, to say the least. We are lucky to have a moving picture of it from a camera hand-cranked by filmmaker Harry Miles. His Bell & Howell was on … Continue reading →

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Old video: Trolley ride in San Francisco, 1906

Posted on February 2, 2014 by David Brussat

Here’s video, with music, from YouTube of a trolley ride down San Francisco’s Market Street in 1906, before the earthquake. After the earthquake? Tune in to this blog tomorrow!

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Old video: Wild NYC driving, 1928

Posted on February 2, 2014 by David Brussat

Here’s an old video from YouTube of several skits depicting crazy drivers of trolleys, horse trolleys and automobiles plowing helter-skelter through New York, circa 1928. And by the way, was the car guy’s second fare Babe Ruth? My brother informs … Continue reading →

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Column: World roses and raspberries for 2013

Posted on January 23, 2014 by David Brussat

Here, from around the globe, are roses and raspberries for buildings, people and events that moved the world as we know it closer to or further from the world as we’d like it to be: • A raspberry to Lisbon … Continue reading →

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Curse of the ‘Creative Capital’

Posted on January 17, 2014 by David Brussat

The rebranding of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC) as the Rhode Island Commerce Corporation (RICC) is complete, and a complete dud. This is the government agency that’s supposed to get the state economy growing again to produce jobs … Continue reading →

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Saved: The George C. Arnold Block

Posted on January 11, 2014 by David Brussat

I am leery of the government taking buildings by eminent domain – that is, offering a take-it-or-leave it price, supposedly “fair market,” to a building owner, who, if he doesn’t take it will have the taking done for him by … Continue reading →

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Column: Roses and raspberries for 2013

Posted on January 9, 2014 by David Brussat

From amid the doldrums of economic lethargy, good news and potential roses for 2013 arose last year in downtown Providence, where the Arcade is being redeveloped, as are four buildings once owned by Providence Gas. Dr. Downtown suspects that readers … Continue reading →

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Illustrations for “Paradise Planned” column

Posted on December 20, 2013 by David Brussat

Here are illustrations for today’s column, published earlier, called “Garden suburbs as ‘Paradise Planned.’ ” Eventually they will appear with the Journal’s online version of the column as they once did with my old blog, and will be linked weekly … Continue reading →

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