Upcoming
PPS Events | | March 17
March Lecture
March 18 & 19
March Lecture Program
June 5
31st Festival of
Historic Houses
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| | | MARCH LECTURE
Providence and the Twentieth Century"
presented by
R. Tripp Evans, Ph.D
Wednesday, March 17
See "Education" section below or visit our website for more information. Registration encouraged.
| Preservation
 2010 Most Endangered Properties List
The nomination period for the 2010 Most Endangered Properties List closed on February 24. Thank you to everyone who nominated a property this year. The PPS Planning and Architectural Review Committee and the board of trustees will now commence their review of the nominated properties.
The finalists will be announced at a public press conference in May. In bringing attention to the plight of these properties, our goal is to foster action - by making people aware of the issues, motivating constructive responses, and connecting resources to those properties that most need them. Stay tuned for the announcement of the 2010 Most Endangered Properties List in May.
2009 Most Endangered Properties List Update:
Grove Street School
 February 3, 2010 marked the three-year anniversary of the illegal partial demolition of Grove Street School. Built in 1901 as a grammar school, it is included in the Industrial and Commercial Buildings District (ICBD) and is also listed as a contributing resource to the significance of the Broadway-Armory National Register District. Grove Street School was on PPS's Most Endangered Properties List in 2002, 2003, 2007, 2008, and 2009.
 On February 3, 2007, the owners of Grove Street School began demolition without a permit in violation of a stop-work order. The police managed to stop the process before demolition was complete, but the damage was done. This case has been tied up in the legal system for years, allowing the partially demolished building to sit exposed to the elements.
In July of 2009, the State Supreme Court placed the building in the city's hands and the city subsequently ordered the owners to stabilize it. The owners, citing costs, appealed this ruling. The Providence Building Board of Review requested additional cost estimate information and will consider the owners' appeal at a meeting scheduled for March 11, 2010 at 3:00 p.m. For more information, call the Building Board of Review at (401) 421-7740.
Help Save "Save America's Treasures!"
Important funding for preservation is in jeopardy: the recently-announced federal budget proposal would eliminate two key preservation programs - Save America's Treasures and Preserve America. To learn what you can do, visit the website of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Two local examples of Save America's Treasures funding at work are pictured below.
 
The Providence Athenaeum
The Providence Performing Arts
Center
Providence School Facilities Report Update
The architectural and engineering firm  Fanning Howey conducted a study of Providence school facilities during the summer of 2009. Preliminary findings are available on the Providence Public Schools website. Community meetings to review final data and preliminary recommendations took place during the last week of January 2010 and the first week of February 2010. Seven schools were recommended for closure.
On February 22, Superintendent Brady announced a revised recommendation to delay the closing of Windmill Elementary School and Feinstein Elementary School at Sackett Street until a task force studies how to restore neighborhood schools at the elementary level. He also recommended keeping Bridgham Middle School open. The School Board is scheduled to vote on the recommendations at its meeting on March 8, 2010.
Revitalization Project for West Broadway Neighborhood
The West Broadway Neighborhood Association (WBNA) has begun construction on a $1.5-million project at 1577 Westminster, the site of a former used-car lot. WBNA is working with the Urban Greens food co-op to open a location there. Spurwink Supported Living Inc. plans to build seven rental units on the two top floors of the building. Watch the interview with WBNA Executive Director Kari Lang to find out more about this exciting project.
| Education
March 17 Lecture
"Place/Displace: Providence and the Twentieth Century"
 "Place/Displace: Providence and the Twentieth Century," by R. Tripp Evans, Ph.D., will discuss the International Style, Modernism, and the current Green Building movement in our lovely city. It will be held at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, March 17 in the Providence Career & Technical Academy Auditorium, 91 Fricker Street. The entrance to the auditorium is on Cranston Street; parking is available nearby. This lecture is free to PPS members, and $10 for non-members. Registration is encouraged; please visit our website or contact Kathleen McAreavey.
R. Tripp Evans is Associate Professor of American Art and the Chair of the Art and Art History Department at Wheaton College in Norton, Massachusetts. He earned his B.A. in Architectural History from the University of Virginia and his M.A. and Ph.D. in the History of Art from Yale University.
March Lecture Program
March 18 - 19
20th Century Buildings of Providence
 Lectures and site visits on Thursday, March 18 and Friday, March 19 will explore the visually distinct buildings that appeared along Providence streets in the 1900s. Lecturers include Ned Connors, Sara C. Emmenecker, Dave Kessler, Jason Martin, Ira Rakatansky, Roberta Randall, Christine Malecki West, and Wm. McKenzie "Mack" Woodward discussing topics such as "Providence Buildings in the 20th Century," "Providence Historic District Commission & Modern Buildings," "Downtown Providence Buildings from the Recent Past," "A Visit with Providence's Premier Modernist Architect," and "Navigating Through the Federal Historic Tax Credits." Attendees will also get a tour of a cutting-edge 21st-century-design residence under construction with an award-winning architect who will explain green building techniques.
Space is limited! Advance registration is required: $100 for PPS members; RI licensed realtors may earn six Continuing Education Credits at a registration fee of $150; members of AIA-RI may earn ten Learning Units at a registration fee of $150. To register, please contact Education Coordinator Kathleen McAreavey.
Children's Heritage Education Tours Open for Booking 
Bookings are now being accepted for our Spring 2010 Children's Heritage Education Tours, which are led from Monday through Friday at 10:00 a.m., Monday, April 5 through Friday, June 11. The tours offered this spring are:
~ College Hill Tour, 1636-1775 - Roger Williams and the Settlement of Colonial Providence focuses on grade four.
~ Downtown Tour, c. 1800 - Present - The Rise of the West Side focuses on grades six through twelve.
~ "Avi" Tour - Something Upstairs, 1800 - A Literary Journey to the Past focuses on grades five through seven.
~ H.P. Lovecraft as Preservationist, 1920s Benefit Street focuses on grades ten through twelve.
~ "Avi" Tour - The Man Who Was Poe, Mid-1800s Providence focuses on grades five through seven.
~ The Crest of College Hill: A Late 19th Century Victorian Journey focuses on the third grade.
Please spread the word at your children's and grandchildren's schools. Teachers may contact Education Coordinator Kathleen McAreavey at kmcareavey@ppsri.org or (401) 831-7440, ext. 103.
 Special Request for the PPS Research Library
PPS is seeking a copy of Buildings on Paper: Rhode Island Architectural Drawings 1825-1945 (1982) by William H. Jordy and Christopher P. Monkhouse, to add our Research Library. This would be a great resource for the staff, interns, and visiting researchers. Please contact Education Coordinator Kathleen McAreavey if you have a copy you would like to donate.
Downtown Providence Featured in the Washington Post
Click here to read the enthusiastic article.
| Events
Winter Bash a success!
 The 2010 Winter Bash brought together hundreds of people to celebrate our citywide preservation efforts on Saturday, February 6, in a raw space inside the building at 100 Westminster with beautiful Kennedy Plaza and State House views. This year's theme was Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. Latin-rock sensation Santa Mamba was back to heat things up, and United BBQ provided some fabulous refreshments. For more information and to view photos from the event, click here.
31st Festival of Historic Houses
June 4 and 5, 2010
PPS will present its 31st Annual Festival of Historic Houses on June 4 and 5. The festivities will begin with a Patrons' Party at one of the most beautiful houses on the East Side on June 4 from 6:00 p.m. to
9:00 p.m. On June 5, PPS will present its traditional house tour, featuring some of the most unique houses in Wayland Square, from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Please stay tuned for updates as the committee continues to formulate this not-to be-missed event.
| Meet the President
 Vance Freymann, President 2010-2012, was first elected to the board of trustees in December 2004. As a trustee, he has been active in membership, development, and preservation work. He also served as the PPS representative on the Mayor's Working Group on Historic Preservation. Most recently, Vance initiated and chaired the Business Membership Committee and co-chaired the Planning & Architectural Review Committee.
Professionally, with more than twenty years of experience in the design and construction industry, Vance is Director of Project Development at Consigli Construction Co., Inc. A significant portion of Consigli's work involves restoration of historic structures.
He is co-founder and board chairman of the ACE Mentor Program of Rhode Island, which is devoted to introducing inner-city high school students to career opportunities in architecture, construction, and engineering. In addition, he is a member of the Board of Advisors for the Department of Applied Social Sciences at Boston University and serves as co-chair of the BU Alumni Club of Rhode Island.
Vance received a B.A. in History from Northwestern University and a M.A. in Urban Affairs and Planning from Boston University. He and his wife, Anastasia Luby, live in the Wayland Square neighborhood.
| Community Notes
Community Forum on the Future of West Side Public Schools
Tuesday, March 2, 7pm - 8:30pm
West Broadway Neighborhood Association
1560 Westminster Street, Providence
 Residents of Providence's West Side with an interest in having high-quality schools in the neighborhood have been invited by the school department to help shape the direction for schools in the neighborhood, including West Broadway Elementary School (recommended for reopening in 2011). Carleton Jones of
Providence Schools will be in attendance. Discussion will be facilitated by Mike Ritz of Leadership RI. (Image: Peter Goldberg)
Second Annual Senator Claiborne Pell Lecture
 Mayor David N. Cicilline will host the second annual Senator Claiborne Pell Lecture on Arts and Humanities on Tuesday, March 9 at 7:00 p.m. at Trinity Repertory Company.
The symposium, Cities, Bicycles and the Future of Getting Around, will explore how bicycling can transform the urban experience. The panelists will be renowned popular musician and avid cyclist David Byrne; Samuel Zipp, Assistant Professor of American Civilization and American Studies at Brown Univeristy; and Thom Deller, Director of Planning and Urban Development for the City of Providence. (Image: Gothamist.com)
The event is free but ticketed. For box office hours and directions, call (401) 351-4242. For more information on the lecture, contact (401) 421-2489 x456.
 Family Learning Sundays
Second Sunday of every month
January - May at 2:00 p.m.
Providence Public Library presents its 2010 Family Learning Sundays series, beginning January 10. Bring your family to enjoy varied opportunities to seek new knowledge - together - at the Library. For information, call (401) 455-8025 or visit www.provlib.org.
25th Annual Rhode Island Statewide
Historic Preservation Conference
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Little Compton and Tiverton
 The 25th Annual Rhode Island Statewide Historic Preservation Conference presents "Preservation Is Local" in Little Compton and Tiverton on Saturday, April 24. Robert McBride, Founding Director of Rockingham Arts and Museum Project (RAMP) and Vermont Advisor for the National Trust for Historic Preservation, will deliver the keynote address.
The 2010 conference will showcase projects funded by RIHPHC's Preservation is Local Grant program as well as other initiatives from around the state. Field trips will explore the varied landscapes and diverse architecture of the Sakonnet Peninsula.
Registration is $40. For more information about the conference, organized by the RIHPHC, please visit www.preservation.ri.gov/conference, or contact Conference Coordinator Janet Balletto at (401)732-1009 or janetballetto@cox.net. Conference programs will be available in early March.
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