Tag Archives: Rhode Island State House

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 , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Hunting the Bristol baluster

Posted on September 15, 2019 by

Some collections grow slowly. My collections of miniature buildings and of historical balusters are moribund. I have about twenty or thirty of the little buildings (gathered mostly on overseas trips) and two balusters – one from the Rhode Island State … Continue reading →

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

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

Is architecture charming?

Posted on October 20, 2018 by

Although it says nothing of architecture, an essay by Joseph Epstein on charm causes me to wonder whether architecture can be charming. His essay, “Life’s Little Luxury,” in The Weekly Standard, is discursive, that is, it rambles round, making its … Continue reading →

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Prov’s City Beautiful parks

Posted on November 30, 2017 by

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 →

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

State House lawn at risk

Posted on November 12, 2017 by

The State House Lawn and Park are identified among a dozen major open spaces across the nation as at risk by the Cultural Landscape Foundation, in Washington, D.C.. The foundation’s Landslide 2017 report “Open Season on Open Space” is concerned … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Preservation | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

Our stately house of state

Posted on November 11, 2017 by

The other day who should pass through Providence on the way to view the mansions of Newport but Michael Rouchell, of New Orleans, founder of the Louisiana chapter of the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art. No ICAA honcho can … Continue reading →

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

A new Kennedy Plaza plan

Posted on September 1, 2017 by

A new plan for Kennedy Plaza is described in this morning’s Providence Journal. “Kennedy Plaza plan envisions ‘true civic heart’,” by Donita Naylor and Jacqueline Tempera, describes a proposal that makes a lot of sense. It does not seem to … Continue reading →

Posted in Architecture, Urbanism and planning | Tagged , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

R.I. State House at risk

Posted on July 13, 2017 by

Rhode Island transportation officials want to spend millions in tax money to accomplish a goal achievable for mere thousands, and to do so in part on the State House Lawn. The Capital Center Commission, which has overseen the development district’s … Continue reading →

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