Tag Archives: Providence RI

Keep Kennedy Plaza central

Posted on September 12, 2019 by

The master planners of Providence and Rhode Island have figured out how to screw up Kennedy Plaza again. In 2015 they removed its four elegant, Art Nouveau-inspired waiting kiosks, replacing them with sterile plasticky kiosks. Now they want to dig … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

Alien spaceship in Alberta!

Posted on September 3, 2019 by

Imagine if the charming little spaceship that landed on the Mall in The Day the Earth Stood Still had looked like this. Full global fright would have been the instantaneous and immutable reaction. Sorry, no negotiation over a meeting of … Continue reading →

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The stately capitol of R.I.

Posted on September 1, 2019 by

In whole or in part, the design of the Rhode Island State House (1901) can be read at many levels, directly or intuitively. The volutes of the Ionic capitals on the four cupolas, or tourelles, surrounding the dome suggest the … Continue reading →

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

Tenn. Tuxedo & P. Purebred

Posted on August 30, 2019 by

The image above of the Rhode Island State House (Charles Follen McKim, 1900), set against a classical metropolitan backdrop in its role as City Hall, is from the 2007 film Underdog. That year I wrote a column for the Providence … Continue reading →

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

New bridge in Providence

Posted on August 11, 2019 by

The new pedestrian and bicycle bridge in Providence has nudged me out of my lane. Its design is modernist. I like it. This does not compute. I’d still prefer a traditional bridge, such as the one inspired by the Pont … Continue reading →

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See “Divine Providence”

Posted on August 5, 2019 by

On Sunday, Aug. 11 at 2:30 p.m., in the elegant RISD Auditorium (1940), the Rhode Island International Film Festival will feature Divine Providence: The Rebirth of an American City. Tickets may be reserved at this link for $10. How it … Continue reading →

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Save the Crook Point Bridge

Posted on July 31, 2019 by

Call me a stick in the mud, but climbing the 111-year-old Crook Point Bascule Bridge stuck in the up position since 1976 is not on my bucket list. However, since the last train chugged across the Seekonk River, pimpled daredevils … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

A mere moment of beauty

Posted on July 26, 2019 by

These two shots of the John Carter Brown Library on the College Green of Brown University were taken as my son Billy and I paused on College Hill, waiting for Victoria, his mother and my wife (whose birthday is today), … Continue reading →

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For one- or two-way streets?

Posted on July 22, 2019 by

On a recent sojourn in (and above) Manhattan, Steve Mouzon sparked a Facebook conversation about the merits and demerits of one- and two-way streets. It unfolded at such a high level of thoughtfulness about streets (of either ilk) from so … Continue reading →

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Latest from the I-195 circus

Posted on June 30, 2019 by

Last week the I-195 commission publicly rejected the Spencer Providence proposal for Parcel’s 2 and 5 on the eastern half of the Route 195 corridor. Of three options presented more than a year ago, it was by far the most … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Development | Tagged , , , , , , , | 6 Comments