For the next installation in the “Who/What/Where/When/Why” (5W) feature reviewing aspects of Providence’s urbanism, history, architecture, and living, I decided that as the Main Post Office’s new long box of garages doors expansion building finishes construction on Corliss Street that this would be a good time to reflect on the significant architecture and design of the main structure itself.

The building is probably best known in the area for being home to the nation’s first automated sorting system. Finished in 1960 and designed by the Maguire and Associates architectural firm, few may have paid as much attention to the building’s complex parabolic roof design that is completely unique for the Providence area.
In Wm McKenzie Woodward’s PPS/AIAri Guide to Providence Architecture (the source of information for this post and an essential purchase for all interested in Providence urbanism and architecture), he discusses how this building was almost certainly influenced by Eero Saarinen’s landmark TWA International Terminal (1962) at New York’s Kennedy Airport (which was then called Idlewild Airport).

While the drama and fluidity of the TWA terminal are lacking in the Post Office building (whose parabolic roof is placed on blank walls punctuated by ribbon windows) Woodward concludes his thoughts on the structure as follows:

“While too big to be considered delightfully quirky, it is an interesting, unusual, and highly visible landmark that should be better appreciated than it is.”

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One question I’ve always had is “Who is Wickenden Street named after?” For those who aren’t familiar with the city, Wickenden Street is on the south end of Providence’s East Side. It has gone through many incarnations over the years. It started as farmland during the city’s early decades in the late 17th century and then later become the focus of the city’s shipping industry during the 19th century, including housing some light industry. It was also home to one of Providence’s earliest and strongest Portuguese communities. It fell into decline as Providence’s shipping fortunes waned but is now thriving as one of the city’s most unique and character filled neighborhoods, filled with restaurants, galleries, and shops. Wickenden and its narrow surrounding streets are home to a diverse array of people and buildings, from students hovels, to million dollar homes, to the Our Lady of the Rosary Portugese church, to one of the newest national outposts of the Moishe Kavod Houses serving young Jews in their 20′s and 30′s.

Like many East Side streets, Wickenden is named after one of Providnece’s early settlers, William Wickenden (ca. 1614-1671). The Wickenden family originated in Cowden, Kent, England and William was thought to have been born in Oxfordshire, although the exact town of his birth is apparently uncertain. He came to America before 1634 and lived in Salem, MA for some time. Wickenden was thought to have become a minister in America and later followed Roger Williams to Rhode Island in 1636. Wickenden served in the Rhode Island Legislature in 1648, from 1651 to 1655, and again 1664. He served as the fourth minister at the First Baptist Church in America in downtown Providence. William Wickenden died on February 23, 1671 in Providence. After his death, his son-in-law, John Steere, and his daughter Hannah sold the area that now makes up contemporary Wickenden Street.

Image from Wikipedia, and information from various online sources, including the Wickenden genealogy and A History of the Baptists.

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