Old Stone Federal Savings Bank, First Unitarian Church

Old Stone Federal Savings Bank, First Unitarian Church

The Federal Building (Ammi B. Young, 1855-57, 24 Weybosset St.) is just visible to the left of this picture pointed from the financial district towards the East Side. That building was built where the edge of the Providence River and its port activity used to be located. It housed customs, the federal district court, and other federal offices. The Providence Institution for Savings Building (a.k.a. Old Stone Federal Savings Bank (1854,1896-8) is the building with the Corinthian portico and low dome surfaced in gold leaf adornment against verdigris. Moving to the right we can see the spire of the First Unitarian Church (First Congregational Church, 1814), considered by architect John Holden Greene to be his masterpiece. Finally, the former Old Stone Square (1984) at 121 South Main is a pure modernist structure built by Edward Larrabee Barnes shortly after he designed the former IBM tower on Madison Ave. “This egotistical corporate-image building” (Woodward, 300), is now appropriately owned by Brown University.

Chester Smolski

Woodward, PPS/AlAri Guide to Providence Architecture (Providence, 2003), 299-300.

Jordy, Buildings of Rhode Island (Oxford, 2004), 49, 63, 88.

Rhode Island College

Photograph

Photograph

5172

Providence

United States of America

Ammi B. Young

1798-1874

Supervising architect

Stone, Carpenter & Willson

Architects

John Holden Greene

1777-1850

Builder-Architect

Providence (R.I.) -- Buildings, structures, etc.; Old Stone Square (Providence, R.I.); Old Stone Bank (Providence, R.I.); First Unitarian Church (Providence, R.I.)

Rhode Island

24 Weybosset Street

Urban Development