Riverside plats added to National Register of Historic Places

PICTURED ARE some of the bungalows found in the Elm Tree Plat, one of two residential plats in East Providence recently added by the National Park Service to the National Register of Historic Places. / COURTESY R.I. HISTORICAL PRESERVATION & HERITAGE COMMISSION
PICTURED ARE some of the bungalows found in the Elm Tree Plat, one of two residential plats in East Providence recently added by the National Park Service to the National Register of Historic Places. / COURTESY R.I. HISTORICAL PRESERVATION & HERITAGE COMMISSION

EAST PROVIDENCE – The National Park Service has added the Rose Land Plat and the Elm Tree Plat Historic District in the Riverside neighborhood to the National Register of Historic Places.

The Rose Land Park Plat and Elm Tree Plat Historic Districts represent the rapid suburbanization of Riverside in the early to mid-20th century, according to Edward F. Sanderson, executive director of the R.I. Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission.

The Elm Tree Plat features 53 single-family, one- and two-family houses and one commercial building on Charlotte Street, Elinora Street and Harvey Avenue between Willett Avenue and Fenner Avenue.
To the southeast, the Rose Land Park Plat contains 39 single-family, one- and two-family houses, along three blocks on Dartmouth Avenue, Florence Street, Princeton Avenue and the west side of Willett Avenue.
The majority of the houses in both plats are wood frame, often with brick, stone or stucco accents. While the predominant housing type in the Elm Tree Plat is the bungalow, the Rose Land Park Plat features a variety of architectural styles, including English cottage, Cape Cod and Colonial Revival.

In the first half of the 19th century, the area called Wannamoisett was sparsely settled, and an agricultural and fishing community known for waterfront recreation. Soon after the Providence, Warren and Bristol Railroad line opened its depot on Bullock’s Point Avenue in 1860, the area was renamed Riverside, becoming a popular summer resort. Electric streetcars replaced trains in the 1890s, making the area more appealing for year-round living. Developers bought inland farmsteads and built out residential subdivisions, including the Elm Tree and Rose Land Park Plats, according to information from the preservation and heritage commission.
“The two plats, Elm Tree and Rose Land Park, evoked the suburban ideal. The bungalows and English Cottage, Cape Cod, and Colonial Revival-style houses combined a nostalgia for the past with a flair for the picturesque. … For those seeking a suburban haven in Riverside, these plats had charm to spare,” the commission stated in a news release.
Said Sanderson, “Attractive 20th-century neighborhoods like these provided an alternative to city living and contributed to the creation of a ring of residential suburbs surrounding Providence.”
Dean Martineau, chairman of the city’s Historic District Commission, said on Tuesday that the “recognition and documentation of our historic resources is the first step that we must take in order to protect these unique structures.”
The National Register of Historic Places is the federal government’s official list of properties throughout the country whose historical and architectural significance makes them worthy of preservation.
Listing on the National Register results in special consideration during the planning of federal or federally-assisted projects, and makes properties eligible for federal and Rhode Island tax benefits for historic rehabilitation projects.
Owners of private property listed on the National Register are free to maintain, manage or dispose of their property as they choose, the news release said.

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