Tag Archives: Providence Preservation Society

Symposium: Why preserve?

The Providence Preservation Society will be hosting a symposium on Thursday and Friday, Nov. 3-4, on the whys and wherefores of historic preservation. The focus will be, to some degree, on the empty Industrial Trust Bank Building, where the symposium … Continue reading

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Capt. Aubrey’s dad’s house

I am on the seventh volume* of my fourth circumnavigation of Patrick O’Brian’s Aubrey-Maturin series of 21 novels, set during the Napoleonic Era. Much of it takes place between bouts of naval warfare, at home as an half-pay officer with … Continue reading

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The politics of preservation

Gail Wiesner is a real-estate agent in Raleigh, N.C., who, a couple years ago, raised concerns about a modernist addition to a neighbor’s house in her Oakwood neighborhood, a designated historic district. A more recent example, now resolved in court, … Continue reading

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Silence for S.W. Pavilion

For about an hour tomorrow afternoon may be spent in silence for a good cause – sitting mute at a meeting to save the Southwest Pavilion. This is the oldest survivor from the day when Rhode Island Hospital looked like … Continue reading

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Two lovely local buildings

I don’t know what’s gotten into me, but I thought I’d just post photos of a couple very nice local buildings, a house and a school office, on the East Side of Providence. Maybe the 40th anniversary of the East … Continue reading

Posted in Architects, Architecture, Architecture Education, Architecture History, Art and design, Preservation, Providence | Tagged , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

SOS for lonely medical relic

It appears that the days are numbered for the sad, lonely final relic of the old Rhode Island Hospital. The Providence Journal’s Patrick Anderson reports in “Rhode Island Hospital plans to raze 115-year-old Southwest Pavilion, last remaining building from original … Continue reading

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“Rightsizing” Providence

The King’s Cathedral, a church in Olneyville whose motto is “Where Everyone Is Royalty,” and its leader Bishop Jeffrey Williams hosted the inaugural session of this year’s “Beyond Buildings” symposium of the Providence Preservation Society. “Beyond Buildings” rubs me wrong, … Continue reading

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Downtown living tour, 2015

This year’s Downtown Living Tour, operated genially, as usual, by Joelle Kanter of the Providence Foundation, is on Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. By shuttle and pedicab – Sol Chariots have become a delightful fixture locally – you can … Continue reading

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Mayor Riley in Providence

To celebrate my discovery of A Vision of Civic Conservation, I have resurrected a column from 2007 in which I report on the visit of Charleston Mayor Joseph Riley to Providence for the annual meeting of the Providence Preservation Society, … Continue reading

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Column: The easy way to build on R.I.’s assets

Almost all cities and states have policies intended to strengthen their economies by building on their assets. Most fail because they reject easy strategies and embrace difficult strategies. Two recent Commentary pieces in The Providence Journal address this issue: “Wise … Continue reading

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