Tag Archives: Downtown Providence 1970

Nordstrom’s absquatulation*

Posted on October 10, 2018 by

Providence and its renaissance will survive the departure, announced yesterday, of Nordstrom from the Providence Place mall. Many local commentators are pulling their hair out in shock and dismay. Relax. Losing Nordstrom is a gut check, but hardly fatal. It’s … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Development | Tagged , , , , , , , | 12 Comments

Fane tower = urban renewal

Posted on July 15, 2018 by

I cannot attend Wednesday’s public hearing before the ordinance committee of the Providence City Council. The committee will hear testimony about whether to raise the height limit in the Route 195 corridor by a factor of six on behalf of … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Development | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Paolino vs. Industrial Trust

Posted on December 11, 2017 by

According to GoLocalProv.com, former mayor and longtime property owner Joseph Paolino Jr. wants to tear down Providence’s beloved Industrial Trust Building – widely known as the Superman Building – vacant since 2013. Who does the PR for this guy? The … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Development | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Pawtucket’s stadium woes

Posted on October 29, 2017 by

Doubts are increasing about whether new development around a proposed PawSox stadium can support its costs amid downtown Pawtucket’s longstanding failure to thrive. Today’s Providence Sunday Journal ran a package of stories highlighting those doubts, but the issue was placed … Continue reading →

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

‘Lost Prov’ reading Thursday

Posted on September 6, 2017 by

Books on the Square will host a reading of an as yet undisclosed (and in fact unselected) chapter from Lost Providence on Thursday evening at 7 o’clock. I will also answer questions and sign copies of the book. My first … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Lost Providence | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Heidi’s chilly new neighbor

Posted on March 26, 2015 by

Kudos to Gizmodo.com not just for the inspired montage above but to its correspondent Alissa Walker, who reports that starchitect Thom Mayne has announced an evaporating glass slab for poor Vals, Switz. At 80 stories and 1,250 feet in the … Continue reading →

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Art and design, Development, Other countries, Providence, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment