List: PPS’s Ten Most Endangered
35 properties
The Providence Preservation Society publishes a yearly list of the Ten Most Endangered Properties. These buildings have shown up on the list at one time, sometimes for several years in a row. Our full guide to listed properties also featured on ArtInRuins.
A lovely split-square dual residence at the beginning of Atwells Avenue, razed in 2014 for a speculative development that has not come to pass
A long-standing and intact example of mill architecture from the late 1800s, available as studio and commercial space
Two massive five-story, brick, pier-and-spandrel warehouses along the waterfront once used for storing cargo. Vacant for 15+ years before demolition from 2013-2015.
This narrow, small footprint a hundred fifty year-old house had a prominent African-American artist as a resident for about 20 years
An aging complex of four buildings, three more than 150 years old, that once housed the largest stove manufacturer in New England
A narrow home that was once owned by antique collectors and caretakers of the Bannister House next door
A part of the Provisions District met the wrecking ball in 2011. Owner of this and nearby buildings, The Providence Journal Company, used deferred maintenance as an excuse.
A proposed 12-story modular building comprised of individual apartments pre-built and stacked in place was designed but never built
Closed in 1981, this William R. Walker and Son-designed church was vacant for over 20 years before neglect contributed to its demise.
A neighborhood battle and a prolonged redevelopment took down Clark’s to replace it with mixed-use residential and commercial space
An elaborate four and a half story Medieval Gothic armory has been plagued by underutilization for the past 20 years
The “Scherzer Rolling Lift Bridge” at Crook Point was abandoned in 1976 but once carried Providence, East Providence, Warren, & Bristol train lines
A relatively simple carriage house down the hill from Benefit Street featuring unique architectural details and construction
A wonderful Beaux-Arts fire station on the east side of Providence that has been vacant since 2017
A historic home that was not officially verified as “historic”, therefore it was unprotected from demolition by neglect
Falling into disrepair since the 1970s, this once important community center found new use and continues to support the neighborhood and Providence schoolchildren
A long fight over the demolition of a former neighborhood school — and a contributing structure to the Broadway-Armory Historic District.
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
A neglected little brick Greek-revival building vacant and boarded up since a fire in the 1990s succumbed to extensive roof damage in 2020
This Neo—Classical Revival structure stood unfinished for 80 years before finally getting a new life as a hotel in 2004.
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 19th century former volunteer firehouse turned into commercial space on a busy urban corner
A fire on Christmas morning gutted the building, but the Masonic Lodge members plan to rebuild, and you can help.
A long, low slung industrial building west of the highway and in the shadow of the Providence Place Mall. Neglect over ten years as well as some nefarious local dealings took the building down.
Once the center of an ambitious waterfront redevelopment project, the building is now underutilized
This building survived for 115 years before becoming too outdated to stay relevant in an ever-expanding hospital system
A sliver of an 1829 structure survives under this turn-of-the-20th-century vaudeville theatre turned movie house turned commercial storefronts
A 60-year history slinging good, hearty diner food evaporated into a cyclone of legal battles. The diner itself is still unrestored.
A massive 58,000 sf former electricity generating station went through three different redevelopment projects over 20 years before finally being completed
A narrow 3-story building built as infill when rail lines were removed in the Provisions Warehouse District. Most recently a set of nightclubs.
A narrow and difficult to redevelop building languished on the Ten Most Endangered List for five years before getting a new life
The one that started a revolution. A 13 acre site, bounded by Atwells Ave, Eagle Street, and Valley Street, housing cheap artist studio space and the famous Fort Thunder arts collective.
A large parcel of land on the edge of the jewelry district whose 1- and 2-story buildings were razed by speculation but nothing yet occupies the site.
A classic mid-century brick and limestone commercial building transformed into a highly visible commercial, residential, and rooftop restaurant space
Vacant since 1987, this building stood on the West Side across from Central High School for over 20 years before being completely razed to the ground.