Who could have predicted that knocking down a derelict gas station could lead to the end of Providence as we know it? When Joe Paolino (former Prov mayor and "owner of half of Providence") razed the circular gas station on Broadway last year for (what else?) parking, he set into motion the implosion of the Downcity district that protected downtown buildings from willy-nilly destruction. In light of a court decision (on a technicality) voiding the district, it just got a lot easier to bulldoze any downtown structures. While the city tries to get its act together to reinstate the district, three downtown buildings might face the wrecking ball.
I was afraid that someone might "accidentally" knock them down overnight, so I took my camera downtown on Monday to get some shots. The buildings are:
90 Westminster Street (and the hole in the urban fabric next to it)
110 Westminster Street (next to the Arcade) - Actually, I've been hoping someone would tear down this awful building, probably the worst on Westminster. But I wanted it down so a good building could be put there (and on it's adjoining surface lot).
100 Washington Street, at Mathewson Street. This building is fascinating, as it is only 12½ feet deep. It's probably impossible to understate the value of a building like this, which adds life to the street and shields Washington Street from a block-sized surface parking lot. Especially in this location between the Convention Center and Westminster/Weybosset Streets, and along Washington St, one of Downcity's most important streetscapes. Building-less breaks in the urban fabric are cancers to cities, and left unchecked those cancers metastasize until the city is a lifeless shell. This has happened in the commercial centers of almost every old city in America, and Providence has been luckier than most.
I really hope these buildings don't get razed (even the ugly one) for the incredibly wasteful purpose of parking. Get working, Providence, and get the Downtown district back in place.
Of course, David Brussat's on the case, too.