N. Barstow Jewelers

About this Property

#Redevelopment

The former Herff Jones building is almost an entire block long (30 bays) along Public Street and only six bays wide along Eddy Street. The building was constructed in 1912 and has been used for jewelry manufacture its entire life until 2026. The building seems relatively unchanged during this 114 year portion of its history.

In mid-2026, demolition of cinderblock outbuildings along the south of the property were demolished, including a location of “Love 4 All Learning Center” children’s daycare. A small garage along Potters Avenue was also demolished. Years earlier, in 2005, a mill building in the middle of the block bounded by Potters, Eddy, and Public was demolished — the former Improved Seamless Wire company. The area once inhabited by Improved Seamless Metal was turned into a parking lot to support the nearby hospitals.

#Current Events

All of this demolition and surface prep of the block is in service of a new medical facility. From the one rendering we have found, it seems that it will be a two-story urgent care center, and we believe it will be attached to the former N. Barstow building — but we can’t be positive. Even if it is not, there are no signs that the long mill building will be demolished as part of the new project.

#History

From the “Industrial Sites and Commercial Buildings Survey (ICBS)” by PPS and RIHPHC, 2001-2002

It is a large, rectangular, two-story, brick building set on the west side of Eddy Street to the west of a paved parking lot bordered by a chain link fence. Projecting brick piers articulate each bay of the building and star-shaped tie rod ends are visible. The long (6-by-30 bays) building features an offset pedestrian entrance on the east end of its north elevation. The entrance is set within a recessed, segmental-arch opening and features a metal-and-glass door set below a transom flanked by two eagle-motif medallions. Secondary entrances are located on the rear elevation, including paired entrances at the first and second-story levels set below a hoist mechanism. Fenestration is comprised of segmental-arch openings with fixed and awning sash windows; some windows have been filled in. Window openings are trimmed with stone sills. Modem signage reading: “Herff Jones” stands on the roof of the façade. A small, one-story, flat-roof ell projects from the rear of the building and a larger, concrete block ell projects from the south side of the rear elevation. [A.I.R.: Neither concrete block ell is extant in 2026.]

The building was constructed ca. 1912 for N. Barstow Jewelers, a firm that specialized in jewelry manufacturing. N. Barstow purchased the property in 1911 and according to city directories and maps, the structure was completed at the 226 Public Street location ca. 1912. Around 1922, Silverman Brothers Jewelers began occupying the building, continuing its use for the manufacture of jewelry. Silverman Brothers operated from this location for thirty-five years. The building was then bought and utilized by Dieges and Clust (ca. 1960), another jewelry manufacturing company. By 1985 the property was occupied by the Herff Jones Company, the current owners of the building.

Maps

• 1920–1921 Sanborn Insurance Map, Volume 5, Plate 15 (page 18) — The building is extant and labeled “Jewelry Shop 1st” and “Metal Works & Printing 2nd.” There is a 2 for two-story and the building’s footprint is contained and rectangular. To the south is The Improved Seamless Wire Co. building with another brick garage building to the south of that. Note the Public Street school west of the N. Barstow building.
• 1926 G.M. Hopkins Insurance Map, Plate 10 — Much the same as 1920 and much the same footprints. The building is now labeled “Silverman Brothers Jewelers.” Note that this map calls the school the “Temple Street School.” Its interesting that the name Temple Street and Temple Court predated the Buddhist temple that sits at the school’s location currently.
• 1921–1951 Sanborn Insurance Map, Volume 5, Plate 15 (page 18) — Similar to 1920 and 1926, with new concrete block outbuildings added to the Improved Seamless Wire facility. The garage along the southern end is now labeled as an “Auto Sales & Service” location. The 1955 version of this map is the same.
• 1972 aerial photo from the Providence Aerial Viewer — The wood frame houses along Temple Street are gone. A parking lot and cleared land are in their place. No outbuildings have been added to the N. Barstow building yet.
• 1997 aerial photo from the Providence Aerial Viewer — An outbuilding has been added to the south, and previously cleared land is now a small parking lot. The former garage and auto sales and service building is gone along with the former Public Street School to the west.
• 2008 aerial photo from the Providence Aerial Viewer — The Improved Seamless Wire building was razed in 2005 and this photo shows cleared land — no parking lot yet. the N. Barstow building and its outbuildings are relatively unchanged.

#In the News

Tradition of passing down gold

by Tom Gibbons
Providence Journal | March 2, 2018

Traditions often endure and keep us and our loved ones connected to the institutions that have shaped our lives. On Monday morning, I was privileged to attend the annual West Point Ring Melt ceremony at Pease and Curren Refinery in Warwick.

The West Point Association of Graduates sponsors the Ring Melt Ceremony and has been doing so since 2001. Graduates and their families bequeath the gold from their West Point class ring to be melted and mixed with new gold to become part of the rings for the next class. At that morning’s ceremony, cadets from the Class of 2019 received the gold ingot that will be added to the new rings they will receive in September at West Point.

On Monday we honored the memory of 69 West Point graduates and their families whose rings became a part of the West Point legacy. The ceremony started with graduates and family members placing the gold rings (with stones removed) into the crucible. Family members shared short stories of their husbands and fathers and their dedication to the values of West Point.

In some cases, sons and daughters told how West Point had become an important part of their lives while growing up in an Army family. For many, it was an emotional experience and a way to bring closure to the loss of their West Point graduate. The graduates had led successful military or civilian careers and been pillars of their communities, living the West Point mantra of “Duty, Honor, Country” throughout their lives.

After the last ring was placed into the crucible, a small sample of gold from the previous ring melts was added. In this way, a small sample of legacy gold from each of the previous melted rings was added to the gold for the Class of 2019. The legacy gold sample contained gold from 451 class rings donated to West Point over the past 18 years by graduates and their families. The sample includes gold from the rings of countless general officers, men who have fought our country’s battles, including the Philippines insurrection and a Medal of Honor winner from the Class of 1962, Marine Lt. Frank S. Reasoner.

After the rings had been placed into the crucible, participants assembled in the melt room to watch the crucible be placed into a fiery super-hot kiln, where the rings were melted. The slag was subsequently removed and the gold poured into a mold. There was no room for waste of a precious metal.

The gold ingot that had been formed was transferred from the 2019 class president to a representative of Herff Jones Ring Company, which will make the new rings for the class. This tradition honors each of these 69 heroes and their families and enables their legacy to live on in the rings of future graduates.

There is something to be said for tradition in our country, especially now. Tradition keeps us grounded as bonds are formed between the past and the future. Memory of the past provides motivation for the future. Hopes and dreams take shape with the knowledge that the ghosts of the past will always be there, looking over our shoulders and keeping their memories alive by wearing that small gold ring that includes a piece of them.

As they receive their class rings, the cadets may stand a little taller, sound off a little louder, and know in their hearts that they are actually a part of something much bigger than themselves - the West Point legacy known as “the long gray line.”

I feel fortunate to have been a small part of a ceremony that honored the heroes of our past and highlighted their many accomplishments for the heroes of our future, one ring at a time.

• Tom Gibbons is an associate professor at the Naval War College and a retired Army colonel.

— “Tradition of passing down gold.” Providence Journal (RI), sec. RI Opinion, 2 Mar. 2018, p. A15. NewsBank, https://infoweb.newsbank.com/apps/news/openurl?ctx_ver=z39.88-2004&rft_id=info%3Asid/infoweb.newsbank.com&svc_dat=AMNEWS&req_dat=D4BD6B42F1AB4706B5E1244D477DEE03&rft_val_format=info%3Aofi/fmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Actx&rft_dat=document_id%3Anews%252F16A666375B7A64B0. Accessed 3 Nov. 2026.