Documenting Change since 2002

20 years of architectural change

We document the architectural landscape and collect the oral, written, and photographic history of important places in Rhode Island. We hope to be a safe space for storytelling, memory-sharing, and dreaming about the future of the built environment. More about A.I.R.

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  • I remember going to Mee Hong with my parents. I always had veal and brown gravy, it came with a little dish of french fries and a little dish of pickled beets! It was delicious 😋
    Kimberly Roy on Chinese Restaurants of the Past
  • I can remember in the 1980s Lincoln Mall was the place to be I remember the pet store the fountain with the Penny’s the dream machine the music store Spencer’s roast house Newport creamery I had so much childhood memories there it’s sad to see it’s not really a mall anymore th...
    Candie Vermeulen on Lincoln Mall
  • I’m not sure Will Morgan actually knows what “urban design” is. Parcel 6, with its small scale retail, human scaled street levels, breaks in massing, canceled parking, etc., is textbook thoughtful urban design, regardless of what one feels about the architecture. Also, an offi...
    Mark on Parcel 6
  • I have a question about the L. Vaughn Woodworking and Lumber Business. I read that L. Vaughn Wood working, in Warwick, R.I., closed in 1992. Was there any particular major factor why the business was closed or did it just reach its “just closing naturally” as all things, even...
    Ralph DeMarco Jr. on L. Vaughn & Company
  • Were there any stock or bonds sold during that time or was the co family owned?
    Richard Faucher on Gorham Manufacturing Company
  • I was just a little kid when my dad first took me there one weekend. It was where he worked. After WWII he reenlist with the guard and became a “lifer.” I would spend all day wandering that massive ediface. I was in awe of the drill shed, as we called it, and the two massive g...
    Raymond Laboissonniere on Cranston Street Armory
  • I also remember seeing the Three Stooges on a stage across the street from the carousel. It was either the late fifties or early sixties. I believe they were there to promote something. There was a drummer behind them that provided some sound effects when they poked at each ot...
    Mike on Crescent Park
  • As improbable as it may seem, I am the person who left the unverified historical info here back in 2013, and nine years on I’d like to add my source. From the November 8, 1919 issue of the magazine American Contractor, page 46: “Station: $10,000. 1 sty. 50x90. Vinton st. Archt...
    JP on Vinton Street Garage