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Westminster Street from Cathedral Square
According to Woodward, Cathedral Square is the “most problematic of Providence’s open spaces.” Despite being designed by world class architects and urban planners, namely I.M. Pei and Zion & Breen, the space has been universally decried as an…
Conrad Building
This building was built for investment income as a wedding present for Jerothmul B. Barnaby’s daughter and his son-in-law, after whom it is named. The tower feature on this downtown building is also employed in Nickerson’s Carr House built in 1885.…
Hartford: Public Housing
The working class housing of the Hartford neighborhood was destroyed when the Route 6 connector was built to alleviate traffic in Olneyville Square. Low-income housing (Hartoford Park Public Housing Project seen here) was built on Corbusian…
Thomas Aldrich House
Woodward describes the Thomas Aldrich House as an asymmetrical four bay Federal style house. It was moved to Power Street from 39 Benevolent Street in 1950 to make room for the Wriston Quadrangle of Brown University. While it was built by Aldrich, a…
Downtown Providence
The Biltmore Hotel can be seen in the lower right of the image as well as Kennedy Plaza in the foreground. The Biltmore originally opened in 1922. It was closed in 1975 and reopened in 1979. Towards the center of the photo is the Financial District…
Providence Arcade
The Westminster Street end of the Providence Arcade (1828) by Russell Warren and James Bucklin and built for Cyrus Butler. Also known as “Butler’s Folly.” Derived ultimately from the Burlington Arcade of 1818 in London, which influenced two new world…
First Baptist Church
First Baptist Church was founded by Roger Williams in 1638. The building that stands today on North Main Street was built between 1774 and 1775. This building shows Providence’s increasing wealth and power during this time period. John and Joseph…
Downtown Providence
Here is an aerial view of Downtown Providence. Providence is among America’s oldest cities and has been rebuilt many times. Providence has been one of Rhode Island’s strongest economic ports along with Newport. The city was founded by Roger…
Charles A. Hopkins House, Parade Street
Pictured on the far left is the Charles A. Hopkins House built in 1875 on Parade Street. Purchased in October 1980 by the Providence Preservation Society, this house was the society’s first restoration project in this neighborhood. The building style…
Mayor Vincent "Buddy" Cianci Inauguration
On January 3, 1983, Vincent A. “Buddy” Cianci was inaugurated as Providence’s mayor for his third term. Having held office for more than 21 years, Buddy is the longest serving mayor of Providence, including during the city's, “Renaissance phase.”…
Charles A. Hopkins House
Charles A. Hopkins House, built in the French Modern Gothic style. The two units appear as different halves of an asymmetrical composition. The simulated structure enframes openings and decorative panels. The house was built for an insurance agent.
Hartford and Olneyville Neighborhoods
Olneyville, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Providence, is located in the central western section of the city.
Fox Point: India Point Park
India Point Park is a park in the Fox Point neighborhood of Providence, Rhode Island at the confluence of the Seekonk River and Providence River. The park takes its name from the maritime activity connecting Providence with the East and West…
Financial District
Downtown Providence is the result of a westward expansion from Market Square, the town’s first commercial center. The gradual transition of business activity across the Providence River in the early years of the nineteenth century resulted in…
South Main Street, 1972
Looking north on South Main St. the peak of the Office of the Attorney General (150 South Main St.) is just visible on the left. The building in the foreground is now occupied by Ursillo, Teitz & Ritch, Ltd. The building at the north corner of…
Cathedral Square Fountain
According to Woodward, Cathedral Square is the “most problematic of Providence’s open spaces.” Despite being designed by world class architects and urban planners, namely I.M. Pei and Zion & Breen, the space has been universally decried as an…
Washington St. Columbus Day Parade
Washington Street on Columbus Day, 1974. On the left is the Providence Public Library.
Union Station
Union Station was completed in 1898 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975. During renovation, on April 26, 1987, a fire broke out, eliminating most of the original interior.
Eaton Street, Triple Deckers
A view of Eaton St. triple-decker houses, just before the intersection of Douglas Avenue (Rt. 7). These houses were, oftentimes, built in groups of three or more and appeared in rows lining street after street. Eventually, the presence of these…
Moshassuck Square Apartments
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 are built in rows of three and four story cast-stone-trimmed brick…
Independent Man Statue, State House
The “Independent Man” statue, which was erected on the top of the Rhode Island State House in 1899, was removed in 1975 for repairs and to receive a new coat of gold leaf. It was returned in the summer of 1976, and was the only time it left it’s…
Prospect Park, State House
The view from Prospect Terrace looking west to the State House. This statue of Roger Williams was erected in the 1930s. Designed by Ralph Walker, the original memorial included steps leading up from Wheaton Street (below) but these plans were scaled…
Armory District, Wood Street
The Armory Historic District of Providence was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1989. The Cranston Street Armory is visible in the background of these Wood Street houses. Houses in the area vary in style from Greek Revival,…
South Providence, Section 235 Housing
An example of HUD Section 235 housing in South Providence. The HUD Section 235 program was developed to aid lower income families by use of mortgage subsidy payments. The neighborhood has traditionally been home to low-income families and immigrant…
Roger Williams Public Housing
Roger Williams Public Housing Development photographed in 1971. This development was demolished in the 1980s and the was replaced in 2007 by the Williams Woods urbanist development.
Mount Hope Court
Multifamily housing on Providence’s East Side in the Mount Hope neighborhood.
Turk’s Head Building (detail)
The Turks Head building was designed in 1913 by New York architects Howells & Strokes. The building was erected by the Brown Land Co. as an investment for members of the Brown family, and was part of a highway improvement plan that would…
Union Trust Company Building (Detail)
The building looks like a skyscraper due to its slender massing. The client for this building was bank president Marsden J. Perry. Building was built by architects Stone, Carpenter & Willson. A 12-story, brick and stone sheathed, steel frame…
John Brown House
One of America's grandest mansions when completed in 1788, the house at 52 Power Street was home first to John Brown, a businessman, patriot, politician, China Trade pioneer and slave trader who participated in the debates and practices that shaped…
South Providence Bar
A bar in South Providence. Identified as Manny Peter’s Cafe, it was located on the corner of Prairie and Thurbers Ave. and has since been demolished. Since the 1950s the the Lower South Side has seen considerable decline due in part to the…
Prescott and Mary Clarke House
This English Tudor Revival was built in 1896 for Prescott and Mary Clarke. The sprawling home, designed by Clarke and Spaulding, is considered one of the most exceptional architectural designs on Blackstone Boulevard.
The Proprietors of the Swan…
Historic James Burrough House
John Holden Greene built two houses neighboring each other on Power Street. The first of two, pictured here, was built for James Burrough at 160 Power Street. Greene was known for his monitor-on-hip-roof which he featured in this small-scale home.…
John Brown House 1789
One of America's grandest mansions when completed in 1788, the house at 52 Power Street was home first to John Brown, a businessman, patriot, politician, China Trade pioneer and slave trader who participated in the debates and practices that shaped…
Historic Joseph Brown House
Joseph Brown was one of the four famous Brown brothers of Providence who were heirs to the shipping fortune of their father. Joseph Brown taught mathematics and astronomy at Brown University, but was also an amateur architect. Brown built this home…
South Providence 235 Housing CURE
Housing in South Providence built under the Section 235 Housing Act of 1968. While 235 housing allowed families to buy a home through subsidized mortgages, it has also been criticized for effectively segregating the population, putting white…
Providence Wiggin Village
Wiggin Village is affordable, section 8 housing located in Providence, RI. The development was built in 1968. There are 285 units in the development managed by Winn Residential and governed by a board of trustees, which includes Wiggin Village…
Blackstone: Single Family Home in Winter
A single family home in the Blackstone neighborhood on Providence’s East Side, photographed during the winter of 1974. The East Side is the oldest, and most affluent section of Providence, containing some of the states earliest settlements.
Washington Street
Washington Street and the corner of Mathewson Street, photographed in 1978. The Shepard Building, pictured at the left, was home to the Shepard Department store. At its height the company occupied surrounding buildings, expanding to cover two-blocks.…
Smith Hill: Eaton Street, Triple Deckers
The triple decker, a house accommodating three units, emerged as a distinct form as early as the 1890s. Primarily a tenement, they are common throughout urban areas in southern New England. These triple deckers on Eaton St. were likely demolished…
Providence Triple Deckers
Triple deckers photographed in the Mount Hope neighborhood of Providence. During the later nineteenth century the Mount Hope neighborhood experienced rapid growth due to industrial activity along the nearby Moshasshuck River. Street car lines…
Smith Hill: Douglas Avenue, Triple Deckers
Triple-deckers photographed on Douglas Ave. This photograph illustrates the architectural variety in the triple-decker style. Most were intended for lower-income families and provided only rudimentary quarters. These proliferated on the side of…
John Barstow House
The former home of John Barstow at 60 Waterman Street in the College Hill neighborhood. The East Side is also home to Brown University, the Rhode Island School of Design, and several historic homes and buildings.
John Barstow (1791-1861) was a…
John Barstow (1791-1861) was a…
Parking Lot, Rail Yard, Harris Ave
Looking west from downtown Providence, Interstate 95 runs across center frame. Parking lot in foreground is now the location of the Rhode Island Convention Center (1994) and the Westin Hotel and Residences (1993, 2007). The impressive structure at…
First Baptist Church from One Financial Plaza Tower
The First Baptist Church in America has been on College Hill in downtown Providence since 1638. The church was founded by Roger Williams in 1638. The building that stands today on North Main Street was built between 1774 and 1775. John and Joseph…
Benefit Street, Historic Homes
Historic houses on northern Benefit Street. Benefit Street runs north to south of the community’s 18th century center at Market Square. in the late 1950s, many of the houses on this street were about to be torn down but were saved, thanks to the…
Central Falls Mill Historic District
Central Falls Mill Complex in 1971. Now titled The Central Falls Mill Historic District, the complex includes a collection of six mill buildings that display pre- to post- Civil War construction examples and a stone dam that impounds the Blackstone…
Kennedy Plaza Construction & Union Station
This photo was taken in 1979 and shows the deconstruction of a parking garage in front of Union Station on Exchange Terrace. Union Station was designed by Stone, Carpenter, and Willson in 1893 and constructed three years later by the New York, New…
Charlesgate Apartment Complex
The Charlesgate apartment complex in Providence. The complex is now known as the Charlesgate Nursing Center. The Firehouse Greenery, which no longer exists, is also featured in the photo.
Construction on Weybosset St
Weybosset street pictured in the late 1970s.
See also slide #4802 - Weybosset St: Loew's Theatre (PPAC) and Beneficent Church.
See also slide #4802 - Weybosset St: Loew's Theatre (PPAC) and Beneficent Church.
Providence National Bank
The Providence National Bank in 1979. Construction of the bank was completed in 1930. Much of the building was demolished in 2005 to make room for a luxury condo dubbed, 'One Ten Westminster.' The project ultimately was scrapped and now only the…