Providence Style Old & New

BeeLine

BeeLine

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What is the latest on the Superman building? Does it have a new owner/ tenant?
 
Nice pics! Thanks for posting! I pretty much never get around to posting my Providence pics after I go. It's definitely my 2nd favorite city in New England, just a touch ahead of Portland due to the more "big city" feel of it.

I remember a list a few years ago had College Hill as the 4th most beautiful neighborhood in the country. I believe it! I have a "secret" free 3 hour parking space up there so it's one of my most familiar neighborhoods. Beacon Hill was number 1 on that list.

I wouldn't want to bring the Industrial Trust Building to Boston, even though Providence is proving themselves as undeserving of such a structure. Still, all I really want to see is the tower reactivated, right where it is, with a commitment to restoration and preservation!

(as a side note, let's switch out 1 Beacon for the Bank of America building in Baltimore)

The capitol building is really nice, classical and stately. Still, I have it rated 4th in New England, just a touch behind Maine's. I could see the argument for putting it into 3rd though!

There was a 15 story residential building that should have just about finished, at the base of College Hill. I don't see it posted here so if I end up in Providence this weekend I'll at least have something worth updating. Considering the beauty and architectural bones of downtown, College Hill, and Federal Hill, it's really too bad the city isn't in better shape overall! Hopefully we see a Renaissance in Providence in the 2020's.
 
The Union Trust Building (1901) is visually ornate and spectacular and is my favorite in Providence just barely ahead of the Turks Head Building (1913). Each had their own claim to Providence's tallest at one time and both appear to be well maintained. I hope the best for the Superman Building as it is my third favorite New England skyscraper after Boston's Custom House and Hartford's Traveler's Tower.
 
Its so unfortunate, I wish we could throw it on a barge and ship it up to Boston. Wed treat her right, probably convert it to some amazing condos like nyc does with their art decos in need of renovation.

The Superman building and the newer Westin Residences tower are beeeautiful buildings. They both have unique crowns too, very underrated and punch wayy above their weight. Worcester is a bigger city and the built environment is not even close to Providence.
 
Worcester's population is only around 5,000 larger than Providence according to the 2018 estimates which is negligible when a city hits the 180,000 threshold in my opinion. I usually use the 1930 census counts when determining actual urban density and clout. That is the benchmark period when most cities built their infrastructure and completed a large percentage of their taller buildings prior to the great depression. Providence had a population 250,000 in 1930 compared to Worcester's 195,000 which is why it feels and looks much larger than Worcester today.
 
Worcester is not really bigger than Providence, unless you also believe that Charlotte and Jacksonville are bigger than Boston. Worcester has 38.6 square miles while Providence is only 20.6 square miles, and as mentioned the population difference is a mere 5000 people. Just adding in North Providence gives 32,000 more people at only 5.8 square miles. Providence is similar to Boston where it didn't incorporate its suburbs. It's easily the #2 city in New England, and looking closely at the numbers I'd say Hartford is #3.
 
^ Agree, though it's a tough call between Providence and Hartford. Hartford's perceived stature by the rest of the country may give it an edge due to it's insurance legacy and I would give Hartford the nod when comparing skylines and density. Hatford is only 17.4 square miles which is a little smaller than Providence. It's hard to fathom how Hartford has slipped to the third largest city in Connecticut behind Bridgeport and New Haven!

Love your Charlotte and Jacksonville analogy. Reminds me of Cleveland and Columbus, OH. Cleveland had 900K residents in 1930 compared to Columbus with 290K, now Cleveland has 348K and Columbus has grown to 893K. However, there is no comparison on which city (Cleveland) looks and feels larger which is why I no longer put as much stock into city populations. MSA and CSA's give a better snapshot of the true size and importance of an urban center especially with so many cities in the south and west who have annexed entire counties to boost their census counts.

Could you imagine the battle if Portland tried to annex South Portland or if Providence attempted the same takeover with Pawtucket?
 
Made my annual trip to Providence to bike the East Bay Bike Path, which is the best paved trail in mainland New England I know of. Wandered around Providence after the ride and snapped a few photos. Special attention to Edge College Hill, which somehow manages to look exactly like the computer renderings, as I hadn’t seen it in person previously.
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There was supposed to eventually be an EDGE COLLEGE HILL II. The Providence City Council approved the use of a tax stabilization agreement for its construction of Edge College Hill II back in 2018. This agreement would have saved developers Steeple Street RI, LLC $19 million in taxes over a 20 year period. This second phase would have been sited next to the current building on what is today a surface parking lot. It would have had a much larger footprint extending from Canal to N Main Street. Ecomonic and market conditions (several other new large 100+ unit residential projects opened downtown in the last few years - Station Row, River House, Chestnut Commons, & the Nightingale) however appear to have either stalled or ended the project. An old rendering from the N Main Street side for this proposal is below:
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