Tag Archives: Providence RI

Prospect Terrace renewed

Posted on February 26, 2020 by

Landscape architect Sara Bradford led the recent restoration of Providence’s Prospect Terrace, in its College Hill neighborhood near Brown University. Her late husband, RISD professor of architecture and modernist Derek Bradford, was my nemesis as I covered the city’s Capital … Continue reading →

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

At Brown, here we go again

Posted on February 21, 2020 by

Brown University is at it again. It plans to tear down old structures in order to build new ones. GoLocalProv.com’s story, “Brown Proposing to Build 375-Bed Residential Hall – Multiple Structures to be Demolished,” mentions four demolitions and reveals that … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Development | Tagged , , , , , , | 16 Comments

The future of Providence

Posted on January 15, 2020 by

Dire. That’s a good word for the bad future of Providence if the erosion of its historic character continues at its current pace. In “Say no to ugly buildings,” an Oct. 28 oped for the Providence Journal, I listed the … Continue reading →

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

Lost Providence still giftable

Posted on December 24, 2019 by

Lost Providence, by yours truly, would make a great gift for anyone keen on the history of Providence, the blessing of traditional architecture, or the bane of modern architecture. Or, dear reader, get it for yourself. Most bookstores in Providence … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture History, Lost Providence | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments

O starchitect house blues!

Posted on December 18, 2019 by

A Bloomberg article, “Having a Home by a Star Architect Is Amazing – Until You Try to Sell It,” by James Tarmy, raised the hair on the back of my neck. Among my favorite activities when I slip into one … Continue reading →

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

Imagine all the buildings …

Posted on November 29, 2019 by

The other day, flipping through stacks of my old Providence Journal columns seeking a shot of a c. 1750 house in Providence’s old village of Hardscrabble (which I found), I came across a column inspired by a website’s image of … Continue reading →

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Hardscrabble and Snowtown

Posted on November 23, 2019 by

Hardscrabble in 1824 was a poor hamlet of respectable families headed mostly by free black tradesmen, craftsmen and servants in the town of Providence. Blacks and others along Olney Lane (now Olney Street) lived cheek by jowl, however, with prostitutes, … Continue reading →

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

A view of Providence in 1808

Posted on November 15, 2019 by

The Rhode Island Historical Society yesterday displayed its amazing 1809 drop curtain, owned by the society since 1833 and depicting the town as it appeared in 1808, twenty years before the Providence Arcade was built in 1828. It is thought … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture History, Providence | Tagged , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Caretaker’s cottage is history

Posted on November 4, 2019 by

This photograph should shock you. Shot this afternoon, it is what remains of the caretaker’s cottage (or carriage house) at the old Beresford-Nicholson estate on Blackstone Boulevard, in Providence. The address is 315 Slater Ave. It used to front on … Continue reading →

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

Two fumbles in Providence

Posted on October 28, 2019 by

Among the eight or so new buildings erected in Providence with virtually zero opposition in the past two years are a pair that ought, by now, to have been reviewed here. And I will get to that. But first: The … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Development | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments