Category: #NotInRuins
143 properties
Properties that have been redeveloped or have never slipped into decay — success stories, diligent owners, and “good bones.”
A handsome two-story former wharf warehouse along Dyer street, backing up to the Providence River, used as a electric substation for about 100 years
A square, seven story commercial building converted to apartments in the early aughts — a frontrunner to the downtown residential boom
A large mill built in stages with an iconic square, open-top stair tower visible from Interstate 95.
A collection of six brick buildings with a complicated history, series of owners, and name
An almost 100,000 square foot mill in an industrial section of Pawtucket that has been used as studio space for 30 years
A handsome, symmetrical, two-story fire house that was built at a time when horses still drew fire apparartus
A long-standing and intact example of mill architecture from the late 1800s, available as studio and commercial space
An 1860s gasometer with unheroic uses for a century before being reborn as small business and community space
A series of late 19th and early 20th century mill buildings converted to residential during the boom of the mid-2000s
A visually-arresting former carriage house and stable behind one of Broadway’s most ornate mansions
An opportunity for mid-century modern along a stretch of land opened up by razing older properties during the construction of I-95
A nice, simple early 20th century building on a busy commercial corridor with some subtle Art Deco details
A fine example of turn-of-the-19th-century hydroelectric power generation situated below Pawtucket Falls along the Blackstone River
The façade of this simple commercial building was left open for years before finally being finished off in an unattractive manner
A non-descript simple one-story brick and concrete structure on a busy commercial portion of Broadway
Slow and steady wins this race — vacated in 1964, some of the buildings were in use as early as 1988, but only 30 years later has the entire complex been redeveloped
Two distinctive buildings joined together as downtown residential lofts — both with unique features, design, and spaces
A former department store turned rock club venue turned loft apartments whose conversion contributed to making Downtown Providence bustle again
A late 19th-century mill building used originally as a machine shop but largely as a cording manufacturer that converted to residential in 2004
A 250+ year old home belonging to one of the captain’s that took part in the burning of the Gaspee
A four-turned-five-story 19th-century commercial building goes residential to support 44 micro-lofts and a younger clientele
Worcester Lunch Car #806 has had a long life and many names but continues to attract new entrepreneurs who want to make a go of the restaurant business
A mid-century brick indistrial building on the edge of the Jewelry District is given new life as part of Johnson & Wales University
A non-descript industrial steel-frame building is coverted to medical laboratory space
Two indistinct one-story infill buildings flanked by 100+ year old two-story mill buildings that manufactured fire safety equipment
One of the oldest industrial buildings in the state with a rich history that continues to this day
Once the largest manufacturer of costume jewelry, this building was vacant in the 80s but then revived by Lifespan as their corporate headquarters
A small stature mill building in a residential neighborhood will many varied uses over the years is now residential
A low slung jewelry manufacturing building on the edge of the Jewelry District is now the main Student Services Center for Johnson & Wales University
A 60 year old metal blacksmithing business known for its craft, ingenuity, and dedication to quality fabrication
A very large, wood shingle mansion in Quality Hill with attached carriage house that was used as a senior care facility for 105 years
A large 250,000 sf brick mill complex used for rubber manufacture over almost 100 years, now divided into office and retail space
A late ninteenth century dye house of the larger Weybosset Mills which has lately become a boutique hotel
An over 180-year-old mill structure with the Woonasquatucket river at its back and a former office building fronting Manton Avenue
A handsome single story early 20th-century storefront tastfully converted to a local bakery and coffee shop
A relatively simple carriage house down the hill from Benefit Street featuring unique architectural details and construction
Likely a former Phillips 66 Gas Station, this building went from tire shop to restaurant to convenience store
A popular restaurant since 1973 in a unique red brick building that was an early horse-drawn apparatus Fire Station
A small, unassuming but nicely detailed brick firehouse from the mid-19th century on Providence’s West Side
A striking 3-story mansard former office building for a larger manufacturing complex of woven goods turned into various small office spaces
An enormous granite, brick, and steel early 19th-century military fortification guarding the entrance to Narragansett Bay
Falling into disrepair since the 1970s, this once important community center found new use and continues to support the neighborhood and Providence schoolchildren
A rare apartment row house with interconnected interior spaces and original details gets a facelift and modern new addition
This chalet-style 19th century Stone & Carpenter design was reivigorated in 2002 with new foundation and additional connecting buildings to expand Brown’s Hillel Center
A handsome, symmetrical façade, Greek-revival inspired mid-19th-century mill building that seems to have always been well cared for
This 3-story flatiron 1920s commercial building was vacant for more than 20 years
An early-addition to Capital Center, built next to the new train station after Waterplace Park was created
A mid-century modern complex built in the late 60s/early 70s for Bulova Watch and then occupied by General Electric for about 20 years.
An unassuming former ice cream factory on a busy road through a residential neighborhood
At only 12 1/2 feet deep, the George Arnold building is an anomoly in the Downtown Historic District
A small but mighty former firefighter training facility turned art space and music venue and most recently, a hostel concept
A mid-sized 4-story mill of red brick and stucco in the middle of a residential neighborhood became apartments in 2009
An early conversion from industrial mill to residential and commercial space visible from the highway as visitors enter from Massachusetts
This stone mill off of a main road has many modern additions, like vinyl siding and brick warehouses, but its roots go back to 1775
An irregulary shaped former horse stable turned furniture showroom turned apartments
A modest hotel gets a facelift and an upgrade during the city’s development boom time
A former catholic school has been converted into 24 two-bedroom residential units on the East Side
Long-time tenants Davis Dairy vacated in spring 2020 after a fire damaaged the upper floors of the house
This huge 7-acre complex is a mixed-use, active-24/7 collection of 165 flexible business spaces and 149 mill lofts
A former high-art-style consumer banking lobby and offices becomes a 56,000 sf art library and housing for 500 students
A turn-of-the-century hotel with intact, 100-year old wood panelled bar enhanced by stained-glass windows and decorative terra cotta
A shingle-style public building sat underused for 20 years before being rejuvenated recently
A turn-of-the-century 6-story downtown commercial building that is now part of the RISD campus
An elaborate home decorated with “gingerbread” details and the former workshop of notable designers A. & L. Tirocchi is now a collective-run bed & breakfast & artist residency program
One of the last operating woven product mills in the area, closing in 2001, and later converted to residential starting in 2007
This handsome trapezoidal mill building with chamfered corner in the Jewelry District was converted to lofts in 2004.
A cute, manageable, three-story mill building on the outskirts of Smith Hill surrounded by car yards
This three-story former lumber yard and wood working business has over a hundred years of history
A nine-story commercial building turned residential and joined the ranks of its neightbors in the collective called “Westminster Lofts”
One of the first condominium mill conversions in Pawtucket, taking full advantage of the picturesque Blackstone river
Two 19th-century commercial buildings come together to create a unique hotel with historic character
A striking black and cerulean blue Art Deco first floor facade adorns this commercial building along a historically significant portion of upper Westminster Street
An irregulary shaped two-story former jewelry mill turned into a small-business studio and residence
A once bustling retail destination and hang out. Now, a dead mall? Not quite yet…
This 300-ton house was rotated and moved 450 feet up Olive Street in one piece over the course of three days
This former jewelry manufacturing building was converted to office use in the late 1970s and is now the Brown Medical School
While only a small 2,600 sf portion of the original complex remains, it’s great that it was saved
A large two- and three-story mill complex bordered by Conant, Pine, Barton, and Weeden Streets
This Neo—Classical Revival structure stood unfinished for 80 years before finally getting a new life as a hotel in 2004.
A five-story red brick former Freemasons hall in very good historic condition converted to commercial space in the 1980s
This once ornate building was simplified in the 1920s and once again in the 2000s but has always been commercial space
One of two remaining Sterling Streamliner diners manufactured in the late 1930s by the J.B. Judkins Company left in the country
One of the first artist-led redevelopment projects post-Eagle Square, these 21 units have remained in artist’s hands, some with afforability restrictions
This ornate former single-family home was built in stages and owned by two prominent business people that almost succumbed to the wrecking ball
A large mill complex of 13 buildings on 2 acres was converted to apartments and commercial space in 2005
A large mill complex on the West Side of Providence turns into residential lofts at the beginning of the boom
A 19th century former volunteer firehouse turned into commercial space on a busy urban corner
A classically-inspired former bank with soaring vaulted ceiling finds new life as a performing arts center
A late-nineteeth-century warehouse building with thick walls, strong floors, and details reminiscent of an armory building
A handsome yellow brick, seven story building with ornate white brickwork designs has become a dozen luxury residences with ground-floor retail
A soon-to-be-100-year-old movie theater went through a tumultous rebirth over a decade, and may now yet again be on the brink of something new
A massive, Romanesque-revival style, granite and brick masonry building with an interior Drill Hall clearspan space of 80 by 140 feet
An early 1900s fire station converted to a senior center in the early 1980s and in constant use ever since
A six-story early Moderne former bank lobby and upper-floor offices was redeveloped in fits and starts into residential apartments
A group of turn-of-the-century mills get converted into affordable residential units and commercial/office space
A stone mill formerly used as a machine parts manufacturer and now commercial office space
A fire-damaged former church used for many years as a furniture storage facility recently turned into 15 residential units
A late 90s/early 2000s conversion of a small mill with new addition on North Main Street into luxury condos
An unassuming rehabilitation of a simple mid-century industrial space into a modern office
This 70-year-old diner car sat on blocks for 10 years before being restored and reopened as a classic breakfast and lunch diner
A small but charming red square building in various states of repair and neglect over the years
A relatively recent construction for large sporting and entertainment events, modernized in the late 2000’s to connect to the Convention Center
A mill redevelopment that tried to be different than the typical luxury condos and one that change residential zoning to help make units more affordable
A 1980s conversion from industrial to residential condominiums by the same developer of the Davol Rubber Company
A 100-year-old ornamental steel and iron manufacturer gets a new life as a center for vocational training and art creation
A long industrial mill along the Atwells Avenue off ramp was home to the C.J. Fox company for 60 years before conversion to office space
A sprawling pre-Civil-War-era complex with a proud history of metal manufacturing of many kinds, including armaments
By the time we took photos, most of the main mill building had crumbled. The main building, though, is still standing and has been converted to a restaurant.
This modestly small but ornate brick building became the home to the Providence Revolving Fund
A huge, castle-looking 400 foot long stone rubble mill with two impressive towers joined to a more modern red brick mill on either side of a historically hard-working river
Lucky for all of us, the Rustic has so far outlasted 13 other drive-ins that operated in Rhode Island since the 1960s
A 60-year history slinging good, hearty diner food evaporated into a cyclone of legal battles. The diner itself is still unrestored.
After almost 100 years involved in heavy industry, this building became home to a variety of office and retail uses
A tall, handsome mill which was a cottom weaving company for about 35 years before becomming a realty company that rented space to other businesses — now residential lofts
An early 19th-century complex with two granite stone mills in the first “Mill Village” is converted into residential apartments
A modest turn-of-the-century three story mill in a dense mill area of Pawtucket
A collection of Victorian Gothic cottages and a stone chapel turned into a shopping center with character.
A very interesting weave shed building, flooded with natural light, becomes artist live/work studio lofts
A massive 58,000 sf former electricity generating station went through three different redevelopment projects over 20 years before finally being completed
An adorably symmetrical former fire station turned into a private residence in the early 2000s
A small flatiron-style 19th century mill building right on the bank of the Moshassuck River in a formerly dense industrial area
This reinforced concrete frame building was the first modern-style, large windowed design in the City
This unassuming golden brick, pier and spandrel commercial building has been part of the Johnson & Wales campus since the mid-1960s
A mid-19th century small scale commercial brick mill has been a home to various businesses and loving owners
A narrow and difficult to redevelop building languished on the Ten Most Endangered List for five years before getting a new life
A present-day example of early car service culture — white enamelled panels with bright green and red accents and an utilitarian design
This over 190 year old structure survived 170 years as an indoor mall but now is a collection of retail and micro-loft styles residential condos
Three tightly-packed buildings with histories in weaving and threading have turned residential and are thriving in post-industrial Central Falls
A small single-story brick commercial-industrial storefront with subtle art-deco details
A former businessman’s club that could no longer operate is turned into the offices for an archoeological and historic preservation non-profit
A late 19th-century investment building used as commercial space for over 100 years recently turned into residential upper floors.
A 27,000 sf piece of the former US Rubber Works has been developed into the Waterfire Arts Center
This 120-year old station has see fires and rehabilitation, but the remarkably handsome structure is still standing and useful and full of tenants
A 400,000+ sq. ft. series of mill buildings dating from 1870 and converted to residential units after suffering a devastating fire that leveled half the complex
A dense complex of 20 buildings built over the course of 50 years has ben converted from maufacturing to new-arts-industrial to residential
A collection of handsome late-19th- and early-20th-century buildings that served as headquarters for a knitted good company as well as rental space for jewelry businesses
A relatively low-slung and simple early 20th century former car repair garage in a residential portion off Broadway
A mini-arcade type of commercial building in a once bustling retail district turned small business and destination retail space
An ornate mill-company-built community space subdivided into offices during the last century
A recently underutilized mill building with distinctive central octoganol tower to become 225 apartments and commercial space
The Fletcher building marks the first foray into downtown Providence for RISD and its graduate students
A small, five-story commercial building that underwent a modern renovation into 12 apartments on a busy downtown street
Smaller than its neighbors, this 2-story commercial building joined the ranks of its neightbors in the collective called “Westminster Lofts”