Category: #NotInRuins
100 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 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
A nice, simple early 20th century building on a busy commercial corridor with some subtle Art Deco details
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
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 low slung jewelry manufacturing building on the edge of the Jewelry District is now the main Student Services Center for Johnson & Wales University
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 tastfulyl 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 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
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
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.
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
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
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 turn-of-the-century 6-story downtown commercial building that is now part of the RISD campus
This handsome trapezoidal mill building with chamfered corner in the Jewelry District was converted to lofts in 2004.
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
A once bustling retail destination and hang out. Now, a dead mall? Not quite yet…
A cute, manageable, three-story mill building on the outskirts of Smith Hill surrounded by car yards
An irregulary shaped two-story former jewelry mill turned into a small-business studio and residence
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.
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 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 massive, Romanesque-revival style, granite and brick masonry building with an interior Drill Hall clearspan space of 80 by 140 feet
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 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 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 100-year-old ornamental steel and iron manufacturer gets a new life as a center for vocational training and art creation
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 sprawling pre-Civil-War-era complex with a proud history of metal manufacturing of many kinds, including armaments
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.
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
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 massive 58,000 sf former electricity generating station went through three different redevelopment projects over 20 years before finally being completed
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 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
A small single-story brick commercial-industrial storefront with subtle art-deco details
A late 19th-century investment building used as commercial space for over 100 years recently turned into residential upper floors.
4-story new construction marries a 2-story Greek Revival 150 years younger at the base of College Hill
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 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”