Archives For Providence Preservation Society

Providence Preservation Society statement regarding the Superman Building

gcpvd —  June 4, 2013 — 25 Comments

Superman Building

Photo by Jef Nickerson

PPS’s Statement Regarding The Industrial Trust Building:

The Providence Preservation Society believes carefully considered redevelopment planning at the vacant Industrial Trust Building at 111 Westminster Street, Providence, is urgent and makes the following observations:

  • The Industrial Trust Building possesses a high degree of civic and architectural value.
  • The building is prominently located in downtown Providence, is an iconic visual statement in the Providence skyline, and its substantial bulk and idiosyncratic massing make it an important placeholder in the streetscape of one of the three main east/west thoroughfares in the City.
  • Given the very large scale of the building, its vacancy is a material drain on the fragile economy of downtown Providence and, by extension, on the economic vitality of the entire State.
  • The Industrial Trust Building is situated in Providence’s Financial District where recent private sector
    development evidences the beginnings of an economic renaissance. A vacant 111 Westminster Street places this renaissance in jeopardy.
  • For over 25 years, the Providence Preservation Society has participated in and sometimes initiated strategic conversations to facilitate challenging development projects in historic properties, particularly those large in scale. PPS has deep experience in this area of historic preservation planning and economic development and offers its assistance in moving the project to reality.
  • We well understand that development projects in historic buildings in Providence, especially those of a large scale, have required a public /private partnership in order to make them financially feasible. These subsidies have come in many forms. PPS offers no specific advice at this time as to the exact nature of any particular public role in the financing for redevelopment of this very important building.
  • Trustees believe that moving forward to create a vibrant, economically sound plan for the Industrial Trust Building is critical.

Continuing Engagement on The Future of The Industrial Trust Building:

The Providence Preservation Society is keenly interested in the future of 111 Westminster Street for the reasons outlined above. The organization intends to proceed with a high level of engagement in planning for the property’s re-use. It offers its expertise in preservation planning and development to the building owner and his development team, to the City of Providence, and to the State of Rhode Island and its agents. We look forward to tailoring the ways in which this engagement might take place to the particular circumstances of the property and its ownership. Our organization acknowledges that this may be the most critical development challenge currently facing any historic building in Providence, and one of the most important to resolve.

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PPS Festival of Historic Homes – June 7-9, 2013

gcpvd —  May 22, 2013 — Leave a comment

sharpe-house

Henry D. Sharpe House – 1928 • Photo Rob Kesack courtesy of PPS

East Side Homes and Lofty Mill Spaces on Tour at the 34th Annual Festival of Historic Houses

Providence Preservation Society’s Signature Event This Year Highlights Prospect Street and Monohasset Mill

Providence, RI (April 18, 2013) – The Providence Preservation Society (PPS) present to the public an “insiders’ view of preservation” with their annual Festival of Historic Houses on June 7, 8, and 9, 2013. This signature PPS event is a special opportunity for visitors to explore the interiors of some of Providence’s most interesting homes and gardens, learn about the city’s historical building stock, and view firsthand the preservation efforts involved. This year, the event will showcase grand era houses on Prospect Street on the East Side, and converted lofts in the adaptive reuse live/work spaces at Monohasset Mill in the Valley district.

Begun 34 years ago to highlight the preservation efforts of Benefit Street, PPS’ Festival of Historic Houses celebrates Providence’s rich architectural history and progressive preservation efforts. This year, the Festival visits two distinct and juxtaposing neighborhoods in the City, offering visitors a broad view of the dynamic building stock throughout the area. “Providence’s diverse historic fabric – and range of preservation projects – is truly a highlight of our City. Choosing to showcase both Prospect Street for its grand private homes and Monohasset Mill for its beautiful live/work adaptation of our industrial past is a way we capture the full spectrum of preservation in Providence,” stated Arria Bilodeau, co-chair of the Festival’s planning committee.

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Providence Preservation Society names Karen Jessup Interim Director

gcpvd —  March 18, 2013 — Leave a comment

Providence Preservation Society Names Interim Director

Karen Jessup, Seasoned Preservationist and Landscape Historian Takes The Reins At PPS

pps-logoProvidence, RI: Karen Jessup, who served for years as a Providence Preservation Society (PPS) Trustee and Board President of the Providence Revolving Fund has become the Society’s interim director, according to Board of Trustees President Lucie Searle. Karen is taking over for Executive Director James Hall, who stepped down after accepting the position of deputy director of the Norton Museum of Art in Palm Beach, Florida.

“We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Karen back to PPS,” stated Searle, adding, “As a former Chair of the Providence Historic District Commission and founding member of the Revolving Fund, Karen has over 30 years of experience working in Providence’s preservation landscape. The breadth and depth of her experiences and achievements on both a national and international level are extensive.”

In addition to Jessup’s work in Providence, she is a former Trustee of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and Chair of its Board of Advisors where she concentrated specifically on diversifying the preservation movement and public policy advocacy. Karen has held administrative and teaching appointments in academia in the US and Great Britain, and research fellowships at several universities on both sides of the Atlantic. She was recently named a reviewer for the American Association of Museums, specializing in non-profit organizational and leadership assessment, and community engagement. In her many years of consulting with groups in the US and Britain, she has guided them in institutional planning, educational programming, and issues of governance and management. Karen has consulted broadly with World Heritage Sites in Britain, National Historic Landmarks and National Register properties in the US, and other sites and organizations of cultural consequence. She has received numerous citations for community service and for her academic work, and has been a juror on national preservation and landscape design panels.

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PPS Director James Brayton Hall stepping down in March

gcpvd —  February 8, 2013 — Leave a comment

hallSome non-blizzard news, the Providence Preservation Society announced yesterday that Executive Director James Brayton Hall will be leaving his position in March.

Hall will be taking a position as Deputy Director of the Norton Art Museum in Palm Beach, Florida. Before his tenure at PPS, which started in 2010, Hall was the Assistant Director of the RISD Museum.

In a message to supporters the Society said:

During James’s tenure, PPS became more visible and added tremendous content to its programming. An active leader in negotiating controversial issues of planning and preservation in the City, the Society successfully advocated for stronger anti-demolition language in the new downtown zoning ordinance, and most recently worked closely with the College Hill Neighborhood Association to guide improvements to the design of the proposed building at 257 Thayer Street. PPS was also instrumental in jump-starting a planning effort for the Thayer Street District to respond to issues raised by the Gilbane proposal. Last spring, the façade of the Providence National Bank Façade was finally stabilized. Brokered by PPS, this effort engaged the efforts of Mayor Angel Taveras, downtown merchants, the Providence Revolving Fund and numerous preservationists.

PPS plans to appoint an interim directly shortly and begin a national search for James Hall’s replacement.

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Providence Preservation Society Annual Meeting tonight

gcpvd —  January 31, 2013 — Leave a comment

Joins us TONIGHT for the PPS Annual Meeting
Featuring Keynote Speaker: T. Gunny Harboe, FAIA
Brown University’s List Art Building (64 College Street, Providence)
5:30ppm • Free and open to the public!

pps-logoThe Providence Preservation Society’s 55th Annual Meeting will begin tonight at 5:30 pm at Brown University’s List Art Building (64 College Street, Providence). Joining us as our Keynote Speaker will be Brown alumnus T. Gunny Harboe, founder of Harboe Architects, a prominent preservation-architecture firm based in Chicago. A reception will follow the meeting, giving attendees the opportunity to meet Mr. Harboe and PPS trustees and staff. This event is free and open to the public.

Mr. Harboe has gained a national reputation for his award-winning work on the Rookery Building and Reliance Buildings in Chicago. More recent projects include: Holabird and Roche’s Marquette Building; Frank Lloyd Wright’s Unity Temple and Beth Sholom Synagogue; Mies Van der Rohe’s Crown Hall; Louis Sullivan’s Carson Pirie Scott Store; and Holabird and Root’s Chicago Board of Trade Building and Lafayette Building, all National Historic Landmarks.

If you’re heading to the PPS Meeting, afterward be sure to make your way down to the Annual Providence Blogosphere Post-Holidays Party at The Salon.

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PPS: Most Endangered Property and Historic Preservation Award Nominations!

The Providence Preservation Society seeks nominations for their Most Endangered Property listing and their Historic Preservation Awards. Visit the link to submit your nominations.

Posted by gcpvd on January 11, 2013 In Buildings , , , ,
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2012 Ten Most Endangered Properties Photography Exhibit – Opening Reception, November 8, 2012

gcpvd —  November 7, 2012 — 1 Comment

The Providence Preservation Society’s (PPS) highly acclaimed annual Ten Most Endangered Properties Photography Exhibit will appear November 8 – 29 at the Brick School House located at 24 Meeting Street, Providence.

The show features the work of local photographers Jan Armor, Jesse Burke, John Caserta, Michael Cevoli, Stephanie Ewens, Erik Gould, Heidi Gumula, Deborah Hickey, Tim Hiebert, Frank Mullin, and Traer Scott.

An opening reception will be held at the Brick School House, 24 Meeting Street, on Thursday, November 8, 6:00–8:00 p.m. The event and reception are free and open to the public. As part of the reception, the JUMP! Dance Company will be performing at the Brick School House. JUMP! often uses Providence’s historic buildings as a backdrop for their performances – as they did this year with the Cathedral of St. John!

Exhibit is free and open to the public.

Hours: M noon – 4; T & Th noon – 2:30; or by appointment. Closed Nov. 12, 21 & 22. For more information contact PPS at (401)831-7440

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Providence Preservation Society Fall Symposium, October 11-13

Jef Nickerson —  August 27, 2012 — Leave a comment

pps

Registration open now at ProvidenceSymposium.com

2012 Providence Symposium: Not Always Pretty: Behind the Façade of Historic Preservation

October 11-13, 2012

Registration to Open in Early September

Building on the success of last year’s Providence Symposium, Make no Little Plans, The Providence Preservation Society will convene a diverse group of speakers to examine the Historic Preservation movement’s past and future in Providence with the 2012 Symposium, Not Always Pretty: Behind the Façade of Historic Preservation.

The unparalleled beauty of Providence’s restored streetscapes masks a movement that has often relied upon unusual politics, uncomfortable compromises, and unpredictable alliances. As the idea of preservation in Providence has matured, so have our practices. We have often celebrated the “who” of Preservation, but the “why” and the “how” tell a much more nuanced, complicated, and sometimes less “pretty” story.

Our morning sessions on Friday, October 12, will look at early successes (even pre-PPS) and the learning curve that arced from the rescuing of Benefit Street to the American Screw Works fire to the first adaptive re-use projects. In the afternoon, developers, planners, and historians will speculate and spar, and examine their crystal balls to predict where we could and should be going for our next 50 years, and what our strategies should be to get us there! Does Brutalism have a future? Who’s history is this anyway? How much preservation is too much?

Join us and find out! Become part of this conversation which will help define tomorrow’s Providence!

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Providence Preservation Society 2012 Ten Most Endangered Properties

gcpvd —  May 10, 2012 — 3 Comments

This week the Providence Preservation Society announced their 2012 list of the city’s Ten Most Endangered Properties.

  • George C. Arnold Building (“The Narrow Building”)
  • Jerothmul B. Barnaby House (“Barnaby’s Castle”)
  • Flower Shop and Green House at 398 Hope Street
  • Foreclosed Multifamily Housing Stock
  • Cathedral of St. John
  • Kendrick-Prentice-Tirocchi House
  • Narragansett Electric Lighting (Dynamo House)
  • former Rhode Island Department of Transportation Headquarters and Garage
  • Roger Williams Park Seal House
  • Ward Baking Company Administration Building

Find more information about each building and the Providence Preservation Society website.

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Christmas busting out all over this weekend

gcpvd —  December 2, 2011 — Leave a comment

The countdown to Christmas is well underway in Providence. This weekend’s events include the Craftland Show, Providence Preservation Society’s Benefit Street Holiday, the Providence Tree Lighting, and more:

Craftland ShowTonight, is the Super Celebration Bash for Craftland’s 10th Annual Craftland Show. Starting at 5pm at 235 Westminster Street, Downcity.

Craftland shoppers will find an expanded store filled-to-the-brim with thousands of thoughtfully made items from handmade housewares and masterfully-crafted handbags, to adorable stuffed animals, cozy crocheted and knitted goods, one-of-a-kind art pieces, beautiful books, clothing, and our now-famous print wall, featuring dozens of screen printed pieces in a variety of prices and sizes. With prices from $1 to $300, there are handmade goodies for every budget.

OneWay GalleryDown the block OneWay Gallery is having their Holiday Reception. 231 Westminster Street, Downcity, starting at 6pm.

Join us in celebrating the holidays early at OneWay Gallery’s Holiday Reception. Featuring original artwork, holiday cards, prints, jewelry, clothing and more. Come by and get some holiday shopping done! DJ Andy Morris will be here too, so get ready to move!

Providence Holiday MarketOn Saturday, the Providence Holiday Market continues at the corner of Westminster and Union Street.

Downcity this winter – locally made crafts, foodstuffs, decorations, and more. Saturdays, 11am to 4pm from Thanksgiving weekend to 12/17.

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