The Erosion of the College Hill Historic District (blocks bounded by Cushman, Brook, Waterman, & Thayer Sts.)

Contribution of aerial photos from the Providence Historical Aerial Viewer

#The District

The College Hill Historic District comprises 381 acres and contains almost 1000 listed structures, some of which date back to the early 1700s.¹ The district was described in the College Hill study of 1956-1960 and then revised and turned into a National Register District by 1976. The significance of its architecture equals the significance of some of its residents who have contributed to the arts and civic life in and beyond Providence, including writer Edgar Alien Poe, composer George M. Cohan, painter Edward M. Bannister, silversmith Seril Dodge, as well as Rhode Island colonial governor and a signer of the Declaration of Independence, Stephen Hopkins, among many others.

One of the most prominent portions of the district is the seat of Brown University. Started as only a four-block fenced area bounded by Waterman to the north, Thayer to the east, George to the south, and Prospect Street to the west, Brown University now occupies 81 academic buildings, 14 administrative buildings, 7 libraries, 54 dormitories and many other rental properties (as of 2023)² throughout College Hill and into Downtown and the Jewelry District.

#The Colleges of the Hill

It is Brown University and, to a lesser degree, the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), that have put much pressure on the residential stock of College Hill. Not always directly — though definitely directly as well — the willing influx of students every year and their demands for near-campus housing has greatly driven the real estate market around these campuses. Often, Brown has purchased residential tracts of land, razed the houses upon it, and built massive dormitories. Though these projects occur less often than private developments, and though they are meant to quell some of the demand for housing, they seldom have much effect to ease prices and pressure for more upscale options.

While this demand has been growing steadily for many decades, the last 10 years have seen significant changes to a concentrated portion of the College Hill Historic District — namely, the blocks bound by Cushing to the north, Brook to the east, Waterman to the south, and Thayer Streets to the west.

#Rapid change in a Five Block Area

Within walking distance to the main campus green as well as the commercial shopping and restaurant district of Thayer Street, this area has always had a strong concentration of students. In these past years, though, the older historic housing stock has fallen out of favor. Private and institutional developers instead have pressed for demolitions and won them handily. In their place are taller, denser groups of buildings with minimal green space and little to no architectural detail. These buildings are designed for a “modern” student with some money that affords them shiny new kitchens and long, flat walls that are easy to repair after tenants have their wild college days.

So, what is the trade off?

The students, for their money, get nicer amenities, big spaces to share with smaller groups of people, arguably safer spaces (no lead paint, modern HVAC, hygienic surfaces), and an area with so much within walking distance that the added expense of a car is truly unnecessary.

What do developers get? High rents from residents as well as the commercial tenants who want to cater to this captive population. And possible tax breaks for some of the larger investments.

What do the non-student residents of College Hill get? That’s a tougher one to quantify. Less traffic, potentially. (But most townies know to avoid College Hill when the students come back, especially around graduation weekend. They flock back to Thayer Street mostly in the summertime, when most students leave.) They get newer properties on the tax roles with higher occupancy. They get properties that the owners might be inclined to take better care of because they are collecting higher rents and more of them.

But what do they lose? Collectively, what character has the neighborhood lost? We have lost two blocks of 20+ historic houses that were falling into disrepair, on land that lacked groundskeeping and often were full of the detritus of college life — beer cans, outdoor porch couches, rotting yard tables, and the like. But why were these houses allowed to get that run down? Was it all part of the plan? Run the houses into the ground, upkeep them enough to continue to collect rents, and then sell high when its time to tear them down? A few of the requests for demolition cited the “blighted” condition of the homes as a reasons to raze them — a classic demolition by neglect move.

#The Timeline

One must explore the pattern that has emerged within these blocks. One must see this pattern and understand that some of it was practically inevitable, driven by market forces and the proximity to the college center. One must also understand how this erosion started, and do as much as we can to prevent further erosion in such a vitally important and nationally recognized historic district.

Press any image to see it larger, and to traverse images in a gallery from one year to the next.

#Blocks bounded by Cushing, Brook, Euclid, and Thayer

2013 — Minus nine homes

Gilbane Development sought and was granted a request to demolish nine houses on the block bounded by Meeting, Brook, Euclid, and Thayer Streets. They planned and built a four-story, single structure with interior courtyard capable of housing 200 students. The previous nine homes likely housed an estimated 75 residents.

This is the first major redevelopment in the area and what we think of as the lynch pin that makes further erosion and demolition within these blocks easier to accept. The developers used the “blight” language in their request, normalizing the previous landlords neglect to properly maintain these structures.

The houses were all circa 1875 to 1900, mostly 2 and a half stories with gable roofs.

2016 — Minus seven more houses, for a total of 16 lost

Seven more houses are proposed for demolition on the blocks bounded by Cushing, Brook, Meeting, and Thayer. Its not a private developer but Brown University itself who purchased the land and the houses. This time, there are no “immediate plans” to build something in their place. Instead, a temporary parking lot is created. “Blight” was once again cited in the demolition request. This additional large-scale demolition within such a short time made the already slippery slope even slipperier.

The houses were all circa 1875 to 1900, mostly 2 and a half stories with gable and cross-gable roofs. Two were handsome twins with turrets on the second floor.

2020 — Minus one more house for a total of 17 lost

Only a few years after the 2016 demolition of seven houses, Brown University has the idea and the funding to build a new student wellness center and dormitory with 162 student beds. It was the first Brown-led development of student housing in 30 years.

During construction, the house at 242 Meeting Street was also demolished (last photo). It happened very quietly and it allowed the student center to be much larger. Mitrelis Construction and Mitrelis Enterprises were businesses that used this address, and according to a Redfin listing, it sold in 2018 for $2 million.

The house was greatly altered from its 1857 build date, with a strange extension that used the next door former car garage as a party wall.

2022 — Minus three more houses and one commercial structure, for a total of 21 lost

Early in 2022, four structures were demolished at 283, 281, 279 1/2, and 279 for what will be a new four-story apartment building with ground floor retail.

The houses were 1875-1895 era buildings, while the commercial block was between 1921 and 1951.

The same brothers also tore down an 1896 house at 235 Meeting Street. A similar building will be constructed, four stories with ground floor retail.

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#Blocks bounded by Euclid, Brook, Waterman, and Thayer

2016–2017 — Minus one commercial structure, for a total of 22 lost

On the corner of Thayer Street and Euclid, the former Store 24 is razed for a new Brown University building, the Jonathan M. Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship. It was designed by ZDS Architecture and is co-owned by Capstone Properties and the Discovery Group with Brown as the anchor tenant.

247 Thayer Street was a mid-century concrete block commercial building and non-contributing structure within the historic district. It was not a great loss, architecturally. It was a Store 24 located at a 247 address, though, which was pretty clever. The new building uses the address of 249 instead.

2018 — Minus four more, for a total of 26 lost

Two houses on the corners of Euclid and Brook Streets are demolished in favor of a new structure with ground floor retail and several three, four, and five bedroom apartments called simply 21 Euclid.

The two houses were circa 1895, 2 and a half story Colonial Revival style.

Also in 2018, the former Stereo Discount Center at 189 Angell Street was turned into apartments. Its neighbor at 185 Angell was razed in favor of a newer, denser, and taller residential building.

These two houses were circa 1844 and 1910. The 1844 home at 185 Angell was completely razed while the 1910 former house at 189 Angell was partially demolished and rebuilt beyond recognition.

2020 — Not demolished, but three homes heavily altered

More houses on Angell Street were renovated beyond recognition in 2019 and 2020.

198 Angell Street was a nine bedroom home. A third floor was added along with a 19’ extension off the back of the property right to the lot line. It is now a 23 bedroom apartment building with 11 bathrooms.

194 and 190 were not demolished but their street front façades are now completely different than their previous designs. 194 is a story taller and all three were extended towards the back of their lots. That tax database now lists 24 bedrooms at both 190 and 194 with 12 bathrooms.

These three houses were circa 1895 and Late Victorian and Colonial Revival in style.

2023 — Minus two more, for a total of 28 lost

There was an approved demolition of two homes on the corner of Brook and Waterman in favor of a five-story apartment building with ground floor retail and 25 two-bedroom units, accommodating 50 residents.

116 Waterman was a circa 1857-75, square plan, 2 and a half story home with a cross gable roof and handsome, central entrance set off by columns. 382 Brook Street was a 1895 home with less detail and a gable roof.

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The redevelopment of these 30 homes has contributed a total of 615³ new beds in this area, which is likely four times as many beds as the previous houses contained. The sheer change in density is astounding, with little to no breathing room between the buildings that are left. The only bright side that we take into account is how little parking has been accommodated by the new buildings.

The College Hill Historic District may still have a strong, beating heart along northern Benefit Street and on the southwestern side along John, Power, and Benefit Streets. It includes many of the older structures of Brown University and the former Pembroke University as well as portions of Fox Point. But in 10 years, these four blocks saw the loss of almost 30 late-19th century houses and the conversion of 3 more away from historic status.

Richard C. Youngken said it best when he warned “the integrity of the National Register district in this area may be compromised by this action,”⁴ when referring to the demolition of nine homes back in 2013. He was the historic planner hired by residents living near the proposed 257 Thayer Street site in 2012, when they were trying to fight demolition approval by the City Plan Commission.

In our opinion, the district has been greatly compromised, losing nearly 3% of its historic structures all within a single four block area. If the historic nature of the district has not yet been greatly compromised, than at least the historic nature of Thayer and Brook Streets certainly has.