Tag Archives: Providence Journal

The Journal’s ‘R.I. Memories’

Posted on December 6, 2018 by

Black and white photography bears the stamp of history, a ratification of the long-ago. One might wish that photos from, say, the 1890s were in color. That would convey a different authenticity, a satisfaction that today’s colorization processes generally fail … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Lost Providence | Tagged , , , , , | 11 Comments

A Lost Providence Christmas

Posted on December 3, 2018 by

Just as the Providence Journal has published its magnificent collection of old Providence and Rhode Island photographs, it is time to go out and get (if you don’t have it) my book Lost Providence. The two books would work well … Continue reading →

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

So blame it on Washington!

Posted on July 1, 2018 by

No other world capital so directly expresses itself in architecture as Washington, D.C. Its classicism was selected by George Washington and Thomas Jefferson to reflect the ideals of democracy, reaching back to those of Athens and Rome. Between 1800 and … Continue reading →

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Taking wing on Westminster

Posted on June 14, 2018 by

Arnold “Buff” Chace, Providence’s pioneering redeveloper of downtown, has another major project in mind for Westminster Street. He has announced the renovation of the Lapham, Wit, and Trayne buildings, erected in 1904, 1925, and 1893, respectively. To the Trayne will … Continue reading →

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

The Journal’s angry editorial

Posted on May 17, 2018 by

The Providence Journal today published an editorial, “Saying no to a bold future,” that castigates opponents of the proposed Fane tower as “insiders,” a term usually applied to those who manipulate the system to benefit the few at the expense … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Development, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , | 24 Comments

Not over till fat lady sings

Posted on May 16, 2018 by

High-fives aplenty greeted last night’s vote by the City Plan Commission to urge the city council to reject the Fane tower. The commission wisely ignored its staff’s argument that a 600-foot tower in a 100-foot zone is consistent with the … Continue reading →

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I-195 eastern front heats up

Posted on May 10, 2018 by

The I-195 Redevelopment District Commission hosted the latest skirmish in the war among three developers to win the commission’s approval to build on the east bank of the Providence River. I arrived at the public hearing but had to leave … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Development | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

L’Apogée, here we come!

Posted on April 9, 2018 by

This afternoon’s meeting of the Downtown Design Review Committee was cut short when one applicant, the developer of a second ugly building on Canal Street next to the first one now under construction, begged off till next time. In its … Continue reading →

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

Johnston, we hardly knew ye

Posted on February 23, 2018 by

Fifteen years ago I wrote about Johnston, R.I., as part of a series that ran monthly (or at far longer intervals eventually) under the kicker “Outside Providence.” Each month, proceeding in alphabetical order, I’d visit a city or town outside … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Development | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

Downsizing newspapers

Posted on February 15, 2018 by

Unlike some other shrinking daily newspapers, the Providence Journal has not moved out of its historic headquarters building, designed by Albert Kahn and completed in 1934, during the Great Depression. But the Journal has shrunk big within its extraordinary neo-Georgian … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments