Tag Archives: Providence RI

Ruskin’s “Two Paths” speech

Posted on November 19, 2016 by David Brussat

Among the platitudes of architecture these days is the modernist credo that innovation is the chief merit of the building arts. Innovation is important, but modernists have a narrow definition of the term that limits their vision. John Ruskin, the … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Architecture History, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , | 3 Comments

Towering towers in La Prov?

Posted on November 15, 2016 by David Brussat

A New York development firm with offices in the Rockefeller Center has proposed to build three residential towers, in phases, rising 33, 43 and 55 stories up from the vacant Jewelry District land where Route 195 used to be. All … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, I-195 Redevelopment District, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Tour of superior courthouse

Posted on November 11, 2016 by David Brussat

A while back, R.I. Supreme Court Justice Gilbert Indeglia, whom I’d met after giving a talk on architecture in Kingston, near URI’s main campus, a couple of years ago, invited me to tour the Providence County Courthouse. I’d been there … Continue reading →

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

Raymond Hood’s Providence

Posted on October 24, 2016 by David Brussat

Above is a photo of a photo of a microfilm copy from a front-page story in the March 19, 1916, edition of the Providence Sunday Journal. It shows a proposed new municipal building designed by architect Raymond Hood, who was … Continue reading →

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Hark, a noble local Nobel!

Posted on October 5, 2016 by David Brussat

Congratulations to Brown University for the Nobel won by one of its physics professors, Michael Kosterlitz. Moreover, congrats to Kosterlitz himself. His Nobel threw me for a loop. It was, I thought, for a discovery in topography, as if he’d … Continue reading →

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Notre Dame’s 6-10 charrette

Posted on October 5, 2016 by David Brussat

Here are the boards – images reflecting thoughts thus far – of the charrette or brainstorming session on the 6-10 connector and Route 195 land issues, hosted last month by Prof. Philip Bess and his graduate students from the School … Continue reading →

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Bodell estate shenanigans

Posted on September 23, 2016 by David Brussat

So, a little dip into the tall grass of small development. Question of the day: Where is the line between a major and a minor property subdivision? On Tuesday night there was again no quorum at the City Plan Commission … Continue reading →

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Bodell subdivide on Tuesday

Posted on September 18, 2016 by David Brussat

Just a reminder that the City Plan Commission is scheduled to have the proposed subdivision of the Bodell estate on its agenda this coming Tuesday at 4:45 p.m., at the planning department on 444 Westminster Street. The address of the … Continue reading →

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

Lovely Rita, meter maid!

Posted on September 18, 2016 by David Brussat

Parking meters on blocks of shops in Providence are not only purging business. It seems as if lovely Rita the Meter Maid may be going the way of the Dodo. I hope not. Friday I drove downtown to shoot the … Continue reading →

Posted in Providence, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

I-195: Subdivide & conquer

Posted on September 14, 2016 by David Brussat

Joel VanderWeele, an architect at Union Studio in downtown Providence, has posted an excellent essay – “The I-195 Land: Subdivide & Conquer” – on the firm’s “unofficial blog.” It is about the development of the vacated Route 195 land on … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Providence, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , | 2 Comments