Tag Archives: Providence RI

Paolino vs. Industrial Trust

Posted on December 11, 2017 by David Brussat

According to GoLocalProv.com, former mayor and longtime property owner Joseph Paolino Jr. wants to tear down Providence’s beloved Industrial Trust Building – widely known as the Superman Building – vacant since 2013. Who does the PR for this guy? The … Continue reading →

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Don’t fob off cheap, easy link

Posted on December 7, 2017 by David Brussat

Friedrich St. Florian and Dietrich Neumann, RISD and Brown architectural illuminati both, have concocted what may be the most interesting, perhaps the best, idea for a new bus terminal to replace the one at Kennedy Plaza. In a Providence Journal … Continue reading →

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Graceful pavilion at Grace

Posted on December 3, 2017 by David Brussat

The new addition to Grace Episcopal Church has opened on Westminster Street in downtown Providence. In this day and age, all additions to lovely old buildings are potentially hair-raising affairs. Churches are not immune to the insult of poor taste … Continue reading →

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Prov’s City Beautiful parks

Posted on November 30, 2017 by David Brussat

Catherine Zipf’s piece in today’s Providence Journal, “Bus proposal is appalling,” is dead on. The more you think about it, as Zipf has clearly done, the more difficult it is to imagine a rational reason for the state’s proposal to … Continue reading →

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Death wish in Providence?

Posted on November 9, 2017 by David Brussat

When I saw the image above of Rhode Island’s pitch for Amazon’s HQ2, in today’s Providence Journal (“Envisioning Amazon’s HQ2 in heart of Capital Center“), I thought I imagined Deming Sherman’s head explode. But no, that was my head exploding. … Continue reading →

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Jewelry District dejewelled

Posted on November 8, 2017 by David Brussat

The image above recently landed in my online mailbox atop an invitation from the Jewelry District Association to attend a groundbreaking for River House, the two leftmost buildings. The third, at right, is the decommissioned South Street Station power plant, … Continue reading →

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Journal review of “Lost Prov”

Posted on November 2, 2017 by David Brussat

This post corrects my lapse in failing to pass along the Sunday, Oct. 15 review of my book in the newspaper I worked at for three decades. Lost Providence was reviewed by Patrick Conley, the historian laureate of Rhode Island. … Continue reading →

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Pawtucket’s stadium woes

Posted on October 29, 2017 by David Brussat

Doubts are increasing about whether new development around a proposed PawSox stadium can support its costs amid downtown Pawtucket’s longstanding failure to thrive. Today’s Providence Sunday Journal ran a package of stories highlighting those doubts, but the issue was placed … Continue reading →

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Don’t copy Boston’s tech hub

Posted on October 23, 2017 by David Brussat

Last week I attended a party on Tide Street in South Boston, part of the Hub’s Innovation District. The party was fun, but please let me convey my experience of the district’s urbanism as a warning to Providence, which seems … Continue reading →

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R.I.’s Amazon HQ2 bid

Posted on October 22, 2017 by David Brussat

Ha ha ha ha ha! Just look at that! Above is what Rhode Island’s leadership imagines Amazon wants for its proposed second headquarters. And they may be right. Amazon may indeed have that sort of thing in mind. If so, … Continue reading →

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