Tag Archives: Buff Chace

The Downcity Plan, II

Posted on March 24, 2023 by David Brussat

*** Editor’s note: This is the bottom half of the 22nd and final chapter, “The Downcity Plan,” from Lost Providence. Chapter 22 concludes Part II of the book, whose final two chapters record the two major projects that sparked the … Continue reading →

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The Downcity Plan

Posted on March 16, 2023 by David Brussat

Editor’s note: This is the first half of Chapter 22, “The Downcity Plan,” from the book Lost Providence, published in 2017. (I accidentally referred to this post initially as the “bottom half” of Chapter 22. I regret the confusion that … Continue reading →

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Authenticity in placemaking

Posted on August 31, 2022 by David Brussat

AS220’s “Unpacking Authentic Placemaking” at the Peerless Building. Left to right, standing and on panel: Marc Levitt, Lucie Searle, Rick Lowe, Myrna Breitbart, Umberto Crenca and Andres Duany. (This and first photo below by David Brussat) Here is a relatively … Continue reading →

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Fictional Oxford pool room

Posted on February 22, 2022 by David Brussat

I once lived for 11 years, 1999-2010, in a downtown Providence billiard room. It was a loft on the fifth floor of the Smith Building (built in 1912) on Eddy Street, renovated in 1999 with views looking to the south … Continue reading →

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Best trad buildings of 2020

Posted on December 31, 2020 by David Brussat

Two weeks before President Trump signed his executive order calling for federal buildings to be designed in traditional styles, his wife, the first lady, Melania, announced the completion of a tennis pavilion on the White House grounds designed with the … Continue reading →

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New and old on Westminster

Posted on September 11, 2020 by David Brussat

Several years in the making, renovations on downtown’s Westminster Street between Union and Mathewson are almost done. It will take more time, and possibly the extirpation of coronavirus “and stuff” (as my son puts it), for the buildings to be … Continue reading →

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Still attacking Kennedy Plaza

Posted on August 31, 2020 by David Brussat

A sensible plan to renovate Kennedy Plaza attractively without evicting public transit from Providence’s central square – by far its most logical location – was submitted in 2013, designed by Union Studio. In 2015, this plan was frog-marched out of … Continue reading →

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Subdivide history? Bad idea

Posted on July 12, 2020 by David Brussat

The first blocks of William and John streets off Benefit Street, where College Hill meets Fox Point, are steeped not only in history but historical character. Most of the houses on these and nearby blocks were built in the late … Continue reading →

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The Nightingale sings, so far

Posted on November 26, 2019 by David Brussat

A large square extraordinarily promising brick building arises on the block downtown where hundreds of Providence Journal employees used to park. I just learned today that it will be called the Nightingale Building. Buff Chace, whose work has revived downtown … Continue reading →

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No, not halfway to Houston

Posted on April 19, 2017 by David Brussat

Yesterday’s post, “Prov’s halfway to Houston,” generated some blowback in my own mind, especially when, later in the day, I came across two reports that lifted my heart and my hopes about Providence and its future. Maybe “halfway” to Houston … Continue reading →

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