Broadway, #545

A new infill home thoughtfully designed to fit the neighborhood while adhering to modern building practices

About this Property

Proposal

In May of 2020, Case 20.037 sought to demolish a 1950s cinder-block garage from behind 535 Broadway. The request was granted because the garage was a non-contributing structure in the Broadway-Armory Historic District. Its removal would not adversely affect the rest of the district. Unfortunately, after the garage was removed, additional land was paved behind the house to provide parking.

The lot at 545 has never been developed. Maps as far back as 1899 do not show a building here. The City Tax Assessor’s office lists the lot as separate from its neighbors as of 2023 (PDF). 545 is at Plat 35, lot 592 with its neighbor 535 at Lot 591. Each lot is more than 6,000 sf.

Starting in October 2020, plans for a new house to be constructed at 545 Broadway came before the Providence Historic District Committee (PHDC). Case number 20.120 continued in 2021 and then switched to case 23.112 when the project changed from ground floor commercial with two residential units above to all residential. The final design includes three units, each with 3 bedrooms and 2 baths.

The architect Mark Rapp did a great job using modern equivalents to historic ideas, like the Mansard roof, window and door trims, and front porch. The house’s design intentionally references its neighbors to fit into the neighborhood. Broadway is full of historic houses listed in the national Broadway-Armory Historic District.

In their final approval, the PHDC stated its agreement that the design meets standards for new construction within a historic district:

[…] the proposed New Construction is appropriate having determined that the proposed construction is architecturally and historically compatible with the property and district having an appropriate size, scale and form that will not have an adverse effect on the property or district […]

Design Reception

The committee did not have to push the developer and architect to design something compatible. Mark Rapp has had many projects before the PHDC before and seems to know what to expect. Broadway is an important historic corridor and it would have been inappropriate to insert new construction that was flat, modern, and boxy. There are examples on Westminster Street nearby where modern buildings have been inserted to varying degrees of effectiveness. Of course, the end results are always incredibly subjective.

We applaud new buildings and here, on this end of Broadway, across the street from an imposing stone church (St. Mary’s Roman Catholic Church, 1864) and sandwiched between two stately 1880’s Victorians, it makes more visual sense to maintain that character with new construction. There will be other opportunities to inject new and contrasting design ideas into the neighborhood, but we agree with the developer and architect’s decision to keep the fabric of this portion of Broadway intact.

We included 545 as an example of how historic districts can work to the benefit of the neighborhood in our essay How is Providence’s Historic Aesthetic Maintained?.

History of the Neighboring Houses

The two neighbors are part of the Broadway-Armory Historic District:

535 Broadway. House (ca 1880): 2 1/2 story; mansard; clapboard dwelling; with ornate Italianate portico, bracketed roof, and two-story front bay. (C) 20th-C. garage, rear.

547-49 Broadway. James T. Kennedy House (1886): 2 1/2 story; slate mansard; clapboard-and-shingle 2-family dwelling; with Queen Anne portico and other Queen Anne detailing. Nearly identical to number 551-53,next door. (C) Kennedy and Mrs. Margaret Gough were partners in Kennedy & Gough, grocers and emigration agents on Manton Avenue in Olneyville Square, just down the hill. 20th-C. garage, rear.