I joined Providence Preservation Society as Executive Director last October and one thing that struck me as I was looking back on my whirlwind of a year was the number of times I’ve been asked in conversation about whether Mayor Smiley’s administration is good for preservation. This may have something to do with timing — so many civically engaged community members have been focused on the city’s Comprehensive Plan over the last six months that we have all gotten used to thinking that the shape of the city is largely determined at City Hall and 400 Westminster Street, where the Planning Department has its offices. It’s also probably a function of small-city living as everyone seems to be one or two degrees removed from someone who has their offices in one of these two buildings, so politics and planning quickly become personal. But the underlying premise — that preservation, planning and civic design rely on a very small number of elected and city officials for their success — is not a premise I share.
This may seem like a non sequitur introduction to this year’s Preservation Awards, but in my mind it is not. This year’s project awards include single-family homes, places of worship, educational buildings, legacy and new community businesses, and re-envisioned mills, as well as an office-to-residential conversion, the conservation of a heritage tree, and a digital reconstruction of a lost neighborhood. Each one of them emerged through deep collaboration, listening, and a commitment to public interest design and use, and the same goes for the people who are receiving awards this year for their contributions to the city. We are and have always been a city of artists — that is clear from the craftsmanship that went into our older buildings and from projects like these that are restoring, recycling and remixing our heritage spaces in ways that are fresh, modern and public-minded. Policies, resources and city leadership are important, but what makes Providence so vital is that the creative work of preserving and designing the city is getting done out in communities, one project at a time.
Jurors’ Award to a Project of Special Significance
To former Providence City Forester Doug Still, the Betsey WiIliams Sycamore in the heart of Roger Williams Park is “the most famous tree in Rhode Island.” The tree and nearby Betsey WiIIiams Cottage have appeared in countless photographs and postcards symbolizing the city and the state. At roughly 240 years old, the massive sycamore is a sight to behold, with its almost camouflage-patterned bark, bright white upper limbs, and in particular, one very long branch on the lower half of the tree exactly at sitting height.
Having already undertaken an extensive restoration of the 18th century cottage, Doug Still and Superintendent of Parks Wendy Nilsson turned their attention to the sycamore tree. With Still’s longtime friend Ron Henderson, founder of the landscape architecture firm LIRIO, as their collaborator, the Parks Department brought over master Japanese gardener Fujimoto Kurato to learn about indigenous Japanese techniques for tree conservation.
The workshop was a 48-hourwhirlwind. Before Master Fujimoto even arrived in the States, Still and his fellow Parks employees harvested wood from black locust trees elsewhere in Roger Williams Park-sometimes considered a weed-to use in the construction of the “hoozue,” or supports to go under the target branch. When Master Fujimoto arrived, he instructed everyone who works on the ground in Roger Williams how to construct and maintain the supports, so they could continue to apply the techniques after he left.
The final result of the innovative, cross-cultural project is a much sturdier tree, and a workforce equipped with the knowledge and skills to continue applying this conservation technique throughout the park. Reflecting on the project, Nilsson described it as “a wonderful extended metaphor for how we can take care of each other as a community… there is beauty in age.”
2024 Preservation Award Winners
Baba’s Original New York System, 424 Smith Street, Smith Hill – Streetscape and Legacy Business Award
Baba’s is one of Providence’s most beloved legacy businesses, and its Smith Street sign and storefront have been a neighborhood landmark since the 1920s. When the Toprak family undertook the restoration of the Baba’s neon sign (Hot Weiners!), they were placemaking, showing that a relatively small project can have a major impact on the neighborhood and the City.
The Cathedral of Saints Peter & Paul, 30 Fenner Street, Downtown – Exterior Restoration Award
The Cathedral is one of Providence’s landmark buildings and a rare local example of the Romanesque and Gothic Revival styles. Completed in 1889, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in1975 and is made entirely of Portland Brownstone. This restoration project led by DBVW Architects went beyond the call, integrating in-depth materials research and an innovative documentation phase that used drones to laser scan the highest points of the buiIding and an industrial ropes technician who rappelled down the building to document conditions. The four-year project models sensitive, rigorous and research-based restoration methods.
Farm Fresh RI State House Marble Project, 10 Sims Avenue, Valley – Creative Salvage and Reuse Award
When Farm Fresh RI discovered huge hunks of marble six feet underground during the excavation that pre ceded the construction of their Sims Avenue building, they took an unconventional route, creating a unique salvage and reuse project that combined elements of public history, public art, preservation and landscape design. The property was the site of Norcross Brothers’ stone-cutting facility where Georgia marble was shipped, cut and planed on-site and used in the construction of the Rhode Island State House. Marble pieces were turned into benches and sculpture, acquired by institutions like the Providence Art Club and Rhode Island Historical Society, and auctioned off to raise funds for Farm Fresh, transforming construction scraps into art.
Hope High School Auditorium and Cupola Restoration, 320 Hope Street, College Hill – Restoration Award
Restoring public buildings can be challenging when project budgets are tight and administrative staff have so many properties to manage. In this case, Providence Public Schools and StudioJAED led a heroic restoration of Hope High’s auditorium and cupola that was careful and sensitive, and maintained the historic authenticity of these beloved parts of the building while bringing them up to code. Hope High was listed on PPS’s Most Endangered Places list in 2001, 2002 and most recently in 2020. We are thrilled to celebrate this project and the project leaders now that the cupola is again a civic beacon in the City’s skyline.
Knead Doughnuts, 900 Smith Street, Elmhurst – Community Revitalization Award
This masterful Iittle project created a dynamic community landmark out of a mundane 1980s commercial building at the “flatiron” intersection of Smith Street and Wabun Avenue. Architect Jack Ryan re moved the one-story building’s street-facing wall, uncovering the original1949 saw tooth facade and using it to give shape to a lively new cafe patio. The resulting “third space” is a cheerful neighborhood draw that enlivens the streetscape on this busy urban stretch.
Paragon Mill, 144 Delaine Street, Olneyville – Adaptive Reuse Award
The Alexander Company and DBVW Architects’s renovation and adaptive reuse of this nearly115, 000 square-foot campus of nine brick buildings took years to complete due to the project’s complexity. The project utilized federal and state historic tax credits, which required all work to comply with the National Park Service’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties. All of the buildings, which date to the late 19th century, had their masonry repointed and much of the original hardwood was saved. Paragon Mi II was on PPS’s Most Endangered Places List in 2018 and is now home to over 100 sought-after residential and commercial units.
Seeing Providence Chinatown, 56 Empire Street, Downtown – Community Heritage Award
Jeffrey Yoo Warren’s painstaking reconstruction of Providence’s Chinatown (1904-1914) combines archival research, 3D modeling and VR technology to bring back the look and feel of this once vibrant downtown community. What makes this project sing is Warren’s commitment to community collaboration, including with Chinatown descendants and Asian and Asian-American youth, who often participate in his Chinatown walks. This is an outstanding model of truly participatory, research-informed public history of a marginal ized community whose stories have been erased.
Stonewall House, 22-24 Benevolent Street, College Hill – Contemporary Addition Award
The new home for Brown University’s LGBTQ+ Center combined the preservation and adaptive reuse of two historic residences with a new contemporary entrance, elevator addition and outdoor gathering space. Horizontal wood paneling was used to recall clapboard siding, while angular geometry provides a subtle nod to the buildings’ original decorative bay windows. KITE Architects preserved the warm, domestic feel of the older buildings, adding modern punctuation marks to create a place of celebration, connection and pride.
William Smith House, James Street, Fox Point – Single-Family Residential Interior Award
John Holden Greene can rest easy: the interior attic renovation of this stately James Street home, completed by architect Jack Ryan, is a respectful and beautiful update. Ryan modified the staircase, exposed the ceiling’s wood beams-showcasing the 200-year-old structure of the house- refinished the pine flooring, and removed wood partitions to create a light-filled living space and bathroom.
Commendation Awards
Chapel Hall, Central Congregational Church, 296 Angell Street, College Hill – Community Space Interior Commendation
In 2018, Central Congregational Church undertook a “re-imagination” of Chapel HalI with Centerbrook Architects. The self-assured and modern renovation trans formed the space with new lighting, an elegant double staircase and reworked porthole-Iike circular windows that feel playful and Iight.
Chestnut Street Lofts, Downtown – Residential Interior Commendation
This renovation by Jack Ryan achieved a compelling synthesis of old and new, celebrating the original materials, detaiIs and scale of this former jewelry manufacturing space while adding contemporary design elements, such as the walnut room dividers, that complement and update the space. The result is an elegant yet rugged loft that gives the historic structure breathing room and a new life.
The Studley, 86 Weybosset Street, Downtown – Office to Residential Conversion Commendation
With a housing shortage and an office glut, projects like these are needed in Rhode Island- but they are diffi cult. With The Studley, PaoIi no Properties removed and reengineered two elevator shafts, rebuilt a rear stair well, and replaced and modernized the 1894 building’s mechanical systems. The 65-unit apartment building contains studios and one-bedroom apartments, with14 units that are deed-restricted as affordable housing.
Marisa Angell Brown is the Executive Director of the Providence Preservation Society.
