Tag Archives: Fox Point

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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Move over, historic character!

Posted on June 2, 2023 by David Brussat

New and dubious projects (the only kind permitted in Providence, it seems) have crossed my desk, perhaps belatedly. One is for an 11-story residential building in the Jewelry District, appalling in its design as is apparently now mandatory under official … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Preservation | Tagged , , , , | 9 Comments

College Hill settings preserved

Posted on March 10, 2022 by David Brussat

Three battles pitting neighbors and applicants for new construction on Williams and John streets appear, after recent meetings of the Providence Historic District Commission, to have been preservationist victories. What? How can three new houses (one actually a new addition … Continue reading →

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Presto! Windows and doors!

Posted on December 23, 2021 by David Brussat

On Monday, Dec. 20, the Providence Historic District Commission met for a second time on the proposal for a new house at 67 Williams St. They were to consider conceptual approval that was delayed on Nov. 22, after the developer, … Continue reading →

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History wins on Williams St.

Posted on July 10, 2021 by David Brussat

For a year or more the vultures circled over an old cottage between Williams and John streets just off of historic Benefit Street. A developer’s plan to add an ultra-modernist addition to a historic cottage at 59 Williams, and then … Continue reading →

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Stick by our “stuck bridge”

Posted on June 3, 2021 by David Brussat

As usual, city authorities, including Mayor Elorza, are trying to find new ways of screwing up Providence by throwing non-existent money at it. In this case, they want to take a perfectly good old 1908 bridge, stuck engagingly in the … Continue reading →

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A Duck & Bunny mystery

Posted on April 18, 2021 by David Brussat

On Easter weekend a colonial-style building at 312 Wickenden St., in Providence, was razed by its new owners, who also owned the Duck & Bunny Snuggery, which was shut for the pandemic. I heard about this calamity on Sunday and … Continue reading →

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Speak for history on Monday

Posted on July 26, 2020 by David Brussat

The Providence Historic District Commission will meet tomorrow, Monday, July 27 at 4:30 p.m., via Zoom, to decide the fate of Providence. That does not overstate the case. If the commission approves moving the historic cottage at 159 Williams Street, … 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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Hand-to-hand fight for 195

Posted on April 12, 2018 by David Brussat

The Battle of I-195 East did not erupt last night but the night before. The I-195 Redevelopment District Commission planned to hear two new proposals vying for land up for grabs east of the Providence River. But the meeting was … Continue reading →

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