Tag Archives: City Planning

More pause please, Newport

Posted on September 14, 2020 by

Faced with a development proposal to replace the Newport Grand casino, the City by the Sea recently placed a moratorium on development in order to suck its elegant thumb about its development guidelines. Bloomberg CityLab published a lengthy article, “History … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Development | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Fly train through Wuppertal

Posted on August 26, 2020 by

This old video, just over two minutes in length, takes viewers through the western German city of Wuppertal, population 354,382 (almost double that of Providence), on a “flying”  or “floating” train a year after its completion in 1901. The Schwebebahn … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Urbanism and planning, Video | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

Subdivide history? Bad idea

Posted on July 12, 2020 by

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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Caretaker’s cottage is history

Posted on November 4, 2019 by

This photograph should shock you. Shot this afternoon, it is what remains of the caretaker’s cottage (or carriage house) at the old Beresford-Nicholson estate on Blackstone Boulevard, in Providence. The address is 315 Slater Ave. It used to front on … Continue reading →

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Two fumbles in Providence

Posted on October 28, 2019 by

Among the eight or so new buildings erected in Providence with virtually zero opposition in the past two years are a pair that ought, by now, to have been reviewed here. And I will get to that. But first: The … Continue reading →

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‘A future, or just history’?

Posted on January 14, 2019 by

A Sunday Globe story, “A Future, or Just History,” about Boston caught my eye. I was arrested by the headline, whose kicker and subhead only added insult to injury: “Trapped in Time” and “No, Faneuil Hall isn’t ‘Boston’ anymore. But … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Development, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

Showdown on Blackstone

Posted on January 10, 2019 by

Next Tuesday’s 4:45 p.m. meeting of the City Plan Commission may tell whether Providence and its citizens can preserve its historical character. A developer wants to demolish the mansion, outbuildings and grounds of the Beresford-Nicholson estate on Blackstone Boulevard, and … Continue reading →

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Veto the tower, Mr. Mayor

Posted on November 26, 2018 by

I wrote a letter to Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza today [Monday]. I sent it by email and then hand-delivered another copy tucked inside my book Lost Providence, where I inscribed the title page in his honor. “Delivered with the sincerest … Continue reading →

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Committee’s Fane flip-flop

Posted on November 9, 2018 by

Learning nothing in its latest public hearing that it did not already know, the Ordinance Committee of Providence City Council reversed itself on Thursday to recommend that the council neuter the city’s zoning laws. It voted three to one to … Continue reading →

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Providential hand on sea rise

Posted on February 13, 2018 by

The Jewelry District Association invited Barnaby Evans to speak about the future of WaterFire. That sent a shiver up my spine. Was the end nigh? No, Evans did not say WaterFire was doomed. He did suggest that sea-level rise might … Continue reading →

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