Fountain Street, #132, Downtown Providence

also known as The Downtown McDonald’s

A simple building located next to the former Sportsman’s Inn (now the Dean Hotel) that was razed for a never-built hotel.

About this Property

Reason for Demolition

A proposed hotel in 2007 led to the demolition of the structure at 137-149 Washington Street and 132 Fountain Street. The design of the hotel went back and forth a few times through the Design Review Committee. It was a bland design that would look more at home in suburban Warwick than downtown Providence, so the committee was right to push back. They got a better design in the end, but still, nothing great.

The hotel was never built.

Current Events

The Dean Hotel, formerly the Sportsman’s Inn and originally the Diocese House, immediately next door to the McDonald’s, was renovated starting in 2012 with a grand opening in 2014. The former McDonald’s building is now a parking lot and side entrance to the hotel.

In the years after the failed new hotel development, AS220 purchased and renovated the Dreyfus Hotel and the adjoining Mercantile Block from 121 Washington Street through 135. The upper floors of both buildings are residential artist studios and workshops. The ground floor of both are stores and bars — Clark the Locksmith, The Stable, Mexico Restaurant, and the former Local 121 restaurant.