Browse Items (993 total)
- Collection: Chester Smolski Photographs
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India Point Park
India Point Park features 18 acres of open space, graceful trees, and walking paths along its 3,600-foot shoreline. Located at the confluence of the Seekonk and Providence Rivers where they widen into Narragansett Bay, the Park is the only broad…
Hay Building
Designed by James Bucklin, the Hay Block (1867) is a Second Empire commercial building composed of red brick with granite trim. On the street level are cast iron storefronts.
The Hay Block was then “married” to Stone and Carpenter’s Owen Building to…
Providence Large House- Morris Ave.
The large houses seen in the photo were once single family homes. At the time of the photo, homeowners had begun converting homes of this size into rental properties by parceling out rooms within the homes. The changes came at a slow rate.
Triple-Deckers on Eaton St.
First appearing in the 1890s, these three unit apartments began to emerge as a popular dwellings for the growing population. This three-story building consists of three identical living units, with one on each floor. While most were designed for…
Triple-Decker Showboat- Central Falls
Nestled between the City of Pawtucket and the Towns of Cumberland and Lincoln, Central Falls' History dates back to 1731 and the early History of the Town of Smithfield. This tiny City with 1.5 square miles and over 18,000 residents proudly boasts…
Central Falls, Fletcher-Street
Elevated view of Central Falls apartment homes on Fletcher St., adjacent to Jenks Park. Located within Jenks Park is the historic landmark Cogswell Tower. The parcel of land for the park was donated by Alvin Jenks in 1890 and built around Dexter’s…
Triple-deckers; one in back of garden
Clustered apartment housing in Central Falls was necessary to accommodate a rapidly growing population at the turn of the twentieth century. The population boom was due to a booming textile industry.
Triple-deckers from Jenck’s Hill
Elevated view from Jenks Hill in Central Falls with mill smoke stacks visible in the distance.
Triple-Deckers
The triple-decker, functioning primarily as a tenement, varied in size and cost. Here Chet Smolski photographs variations on the triple-decker tenement in Central Falls.
Triple-Deckers on Fales Street
Dense apartment housing on the corner of Fletcher and Fales St.
Triple-Decker Interior
The interior of an apartment within a triple-decker home in Central Falls. A couple is seated at the kitchen table. The interior of triple-decker houses varied by social status. A working-class family’s home would include a parlor, kitchen, bedrooms,…
Triple-Deckers
An example of a triple-decker tenement in Central Falls. The triple-decker first appeared around 1890 and within a quarter century they predominated inner city neighborhoods in and around Providence, including nearby Central Falls. These deep,…
Moshassuck Square
Milton Fine and Interstate Hotels Corporation developed, owned and operated the full service Providence Marriott Downtown hotel located on Orms Street. The hotel opened in 1975 with 250 rooms and was renovated in 1980 to become a 350 room hotel.
Moshassuck Square: Back REDE
A back view of the Moshassuck Square Apartments and the Moshassuck River. The Moshassuck Square Apartments, designed by architect William D. Warner and constructed in 1972, were a key element in the revitalization of Randall Square. The apartments…
Providence
An aerial view of South Providence. This image looks west, with Allens Ave. running parallel to the bottom of the picture plane and Interstate 95 prominently curving through the center of the image.
Providence
This south looking aerial view, photographed in the late 1990’s, shows South Providence neighborhood of Providence and a bit of Cranston. The two water bodies seen center frame are Mashapaug Pond and Spectacle Pond (left to right). To the east is…
Providence
This aerial view looks south west across South Providence and into Cranston. Seen prominantly in the lower left is the Rhode Island Hospital complex, with the Hasbro Children’s Hospital which was only recently completed at the time of the…
Providence
This aerial photograph of South Providence includes Rhode Island Hospital and the Port of Providence in the late 1990’s. Allens Avenue and Interstate 95 run parallel across the bottom of the frame. Visible at the lower right corner is the old…
Providence River looking South from India Point Park
India Point Park was opened in 1974 after declines in shipping led to the area being redeveloped as a recreational space. This image, looking south from the park, was likely taken within a couple of years of the park’s opening. The image shows the…
India Point Park
View looking East from India Point Park. In the distance stands the old India Point Park Pedestrian bridge. Originally measuring 8 feet wide, the bridge was built in 1971 and then demolished in 2005 to be reconstructed. It was officially replaced in…
Rhode Island Independent Man
The “Independent Man” was first proposed to be a statue of Roger Williams at the annual meeting of the Rhode Island Historical Society in 1895. The statue, to be placed atop the proposed new State House, was designed by George T. Brewster for…
Rhode Island Independent Man
On 20 July 1976 the “Independent Man” statue, which sits atop the Rhode Island State House, was returned after spending a year being repaired and receiving a new coat of gold leaf. He also spent some of that time at the Warwick shopping mall. This…
Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall
The wall seen in this photo is a memorial to those who served in the Vietnam War. The memorial is located in the Constitution Gardens near the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. The land was acquired through legislation passed by President Carter.…
The Three Servicemen Statue
The Three Servicemen statue is the result of the controversy surrounding Maya Ying Lin's design of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Some veterans and their political supporters felt that The Wall was "a black gash of shame" or a "giant tombstone." It…
Marine Corps War Memorial
The Marine Corps War Memorial stands as a symbol of this grateful Nation's esteem for the honored dead of the U.S. Marine Corps. While the statue depicts one of the most famous incidents of World War II, the memorial is dedicated to all Marines who…
State House & Roger Williams at Night
Statue of Roger Williams at Prospect Terrace, photographed at night in the early 1970’s. The State House is seen glowing on the horizon.
Parris Island, South Carolina
The entrance to the Marine Corps Recruit Depot in Parris Island, South Carolina. Training of Marine Corps recruits began here in 1915. The base has been training recruits for every major U.S. conflict of the 20th and 21st century.
The Breakers- Newport, RI
The Breakers is the grandest of Newport's summer "cottages" and a symbol of the Vanderbilt family's social and financial preeminence in turn of the century America. Cornelius Vanderbilt II purchased a wooden house called The Breakers in Newport. In…
Newport- The Breakers
The Breakers, an 11-acre estate on Ochre Point overlooking the ocean in Newport, Rhode Island, epitomizes the wealth and extravagance of America's Gilded Age. Designed by Richard Morris Hunt for Cornelius Vanderbilt, the grandson of Commodore C.…
Linn Creek, MO (Ozarks)
Linn Creek is located in Camden County, Missouri. Linn Creek is close to the Lake of the Ozarks, a large reservoir created by the Osage River in the Northern part of the Ozark Mountains. In 2000, the population of Linn Creek was approximately 280…
Gloucester- Prospect St. Housing
Gloucester is located on Cape Ann in Massachusetts. Once known at “le beau port” by settlers, Gloucester became one of the ship building capitals of New England in the 18th century. Two major fires -- one in 1830 and one in 1864 -- destroyed many of…
Gloucester- Prospect St. Housing
The Senior Care Center located at 31 Prospect St. was originally housing for the elderly funded by the city of Gloucester, Massachusetts. The project was undertaken by Govenor Francis W. Sargent who held that position from 1965-1979.
The site is…
Gloucester- Prospect St. Housing
The Senior Care Center located at 31 Prospect St. was originally housing for the elderly funded by the city of Gloucester, Massachusetts. The project was undertaken by Govenor Francis W. Sargent who held that position from 1965-1979.
The site is…
Gloucester- Central Grammar
The Central Grammar Apartments have long been the home for elderly Gloucester residents seeking affordable housing. The building, which neighbors city hall and the post office, was once home to Gloucester Grammar School. In 2010, the Central…
Pier Village, Narragansett, RI
The Towers in Narragansett are actually the remains of the Narragansett Pier Casino, which burned in 1905. Pictured here are The Towers in 1978, with Ocean Rd passing through. They have become one of the most recognizable structures in the…
Pier Village Apartments
In the late 19th century, summer visitors began flocking to the Narragansett shore for a reprieve from city life. The Seaview Trolley Line from Providence to Narragansett began in 1900 and greatly increased the number of seasonal visitors. The grand…
Pier Village Directory
The Pier Village was developed in the 1970s. A combination of apartment housing and commercial space, the mall-like development has since been expanded to include more waterfront condos. The waterfront location had previously consisted of hotels,…
Gloucester- Prospect St. Housing
The view of the Prospect Street elderly housing, as seen from a lower vantage point. The top of the building is clearly visible above the homes in the surrounding neighborhoods.
Gloucester- Central Grammar Entrance
The former entrance to the Central Grammar Apartments in Gloucester, Massachusetts. The elderly apartment housing was renovated and updated in 2010 with a grant from the state Department of Housing and Community Development.
Gloucester- Central Grammar Rear View
The Central Apartments elderly housing building and the rear parking lot, located on Mason Street in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
Gloucester- Central Grammar Interior
The historic exterior of the Central Grammar Apartments does not lend its style to the interior. The interior hallway has stark, institutional finishes.
Gloucester- Central Grammar Community Room
A lack of natural light leaves the community room at the Central Grammar Apartments in the dark. The housing facility received a grant in 2010 for renovations.
Gloucester- Central Grammar
The Central Grammar Apartments elderly housing facility in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
Paul Rudolph Public Housing- New Haven
The Oriental Masonic Gardens in New Haven was a modular housing project designed by Paul Rudolph and built by Prince Hall Masons. In this project, residences were grouped in fours around a utility core. Lower modules contained living spaces, with…
Ernest Tinkham House
This Queen Anne mansion was built by the Tinkham family. It's position on Sweet Hill, slightly elevating it above Harrisonville Mill, visually demonstrates the lordship-like status of a Victorian mill owner. The three story cylindrical corner, topped…
Providence Housing
During the late nineteenth century, the rapid industrialization of Providence spawned a number of inner-city neighborhoods close to the center of commerce. As immigrant populations began to settle in Providence, those who had been living in the city…
Public Housing- Roger Williams South Providence
The Roger Williams Housing Project was built in 1943 to address housing issues for the low-income residents of Providence. The project was considered a success for the first fifteen years of its existence, with a strong residents association and…
Mobile Home in Individual Site, Glocester, RI
Mobile home site in Glocester, RI. During this time, rural towns in Rhode Island such as Glocester, Charlestown, Narragansett, and West Greenwich reported a rapid growth in population. With increases in the popuation averaging around 40% people…
Pleasant St. Pawtucket- Post war Infilling
Single family homes on Pleasant St. in Pawtucket located across from Francis J. Varieur Elementary School.
Providence Port
Aerial view showing Providence Port circa 1976. Allens Ave. runs diagnolly across the picture plane, and Interstate 95 enters the frame on the right, curves around the city and continues north to the horizon. To the east (frame right) the Fox…