Prospect Heights named to National Register of Historic Places

PAWTUCKET – Prospect Heights, a 1940s public housing complex, recently was named to the National Register of Historic Places, according to the state Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission.
The complex comprises 36 brick and concrete block buildings, set on 21 acres at the intersection of Prospect Street and Beverage Hill Avenue. The site includes 35 two-story row house apartments and a single-story administration building.
The buildings are oriented parallel to each other, to maximize sunlight and movement of air into each of the 310 apartments, according to Ted Sanderson, executive director of the preservation and heritage commission. The design was modern and minimalist for the time, with a chevron motif in cast iron over the exterior doorways.
The apartments were constructed by the Pawtucket Housing Authority, which in 1941 became the first housing authority in the state to qualify for federal funds, in the form of a loan, to build the housing on a former industrial site.
The complex has housed residents for 74 continuous years.

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