The interior of the soon-to-be-renovated Arcade tops Providence Preservation Society’s 2009 Most Endangered Properties survey.
The list, announced last week, also includes two historic theaters, an East Side apartment building and six properties that also made the 2008 list. The What Cheer Mutual Fire Insurance Co. building – vacated last year by the United Way of Rhode Island – has also been listed as being under threat of demolition.
Granoff Associates LLC, which owns the 181-year-old Arcade in downtown Providence, last May announced an $8 million renovation intended to create a more green building and attract a single tenant. In pegging the Arcade’s interior as an endangered gem, PPS said the building’s “impressive architecture and deep roots in both Providence’s and America’s history contribute to concern surrounding the building’s proposed reconfiguration.”
And PPS officials took note of the developer’s intention to “ensure both the architectural preservation and the long-term economic viability of this treasure.”
But, PPS said, “[S]hould the Arcade be reconfigured for a single tenant, the integrity of the interior space, especially the public corridor, will be severely jeopardized.”
Granoff principal Evan Granoff did not immediately return a message seeking comment. In introducing the renovation, however, Granoff said, “It hasn’t made money now for 20 years. Well, it might never have made money. It’s just reached the point where, if you walk through there, it’s sorely in need of renovation.”
The list was announced May 6 at PPS East Side headquarters by PPS President Oliver H.L. Bennett. Ten properties and one National Register District make up this year’s list.
The complete 2009 list includes:
• The Arcade Interior – 130 Westminster St. and 65 Weybosset St.
• The Atlantic Mills Towers – 100 Manton Ave. The mills are “highly visible and visually distinctive,” but they haven’t been maintained and are “falling into a state of disrepair.”
• Bomes Theatre and Castle Theater – 1017 Broad St. and 1039 Chalkstone Ave. Both theaters represent a time when neighborhood movie theaters were popping up around the country, but both are closed and vacant.
• Cathedral of St. John and Diocesan Properties – 271 North Main St. Deterioration has caused wood to rot in the church tower, PPS reported. And the interior walls and ceiling have cracked. A committee has been formed to look at restoration, but “action has not been yet taken and the entire campus of buildings, most importantly the cathedral, remains at risk.”
• Downtown National Register District – 110 Westminster St. and the Teste Block, 50 Weybosset St. and 88 Dorrance St. The downtown property is being threatened by public policy, poor quality additions, unregulated demolitions and the declining real estate market, according to PPS.
• Grove Street Elementary School – 95 Grove St. This is the fifth year that the school, now partially demolished, has been listed. The building’s 2007 demolition was halted by the R.I. Supreme Court, but the “partially demolished building continues to sit exposed to the elements.”
• Former R.I. Department of Transportation headquarters and garage – 30 Arline St. Although the building has been purchased by Quality Beef Company, the building “remains in disrepair and is being underutilized as a warehouse.”
• Captain Joseph Tillinghast House – 403 South Main St. The former home of Capt. Joseph Tillinghast, who commanded one of the boats involved in the 1772 burning of the H.M.S. Gaspee, the house has fallen into disrepair.
• What Cheer Fire Insurance Co. Building – 229 Waterman St.
The annual list, modeled after the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 11 Most Endangered Places, started in Providence in 1994. It was suspended in 2005 and 2006 during the planning process for PPS’ 50th anniversary events. •
