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News: 2007 archive

museum of natural history $1 million in State Preservation Grants awarded
Lt. Gov. Elizabeth Roberts, Providence Mayor David Cicilline, and Rep. John Patrick Shanley, Jr. (South Kingstown) joined with the RIHPHC to announce the slate of State Preservation Grant projects for 2007. Sites included the Museum of Natural History and Planetarium in Providence's Roger Williams Park and 19 other cultural arts centers, public historic sites, and museums around the state. list of sites (12/7/07)
preserve america Apply for a Preserve America Grant!
Applications for the final round of 2007 federal Preserve America grants are due on Dec. 12. The matching-grant program provides supports preservation efforts through heritage tourism, education and preservation planning. More information is available from the National Park Service (11/21/07).
lead safe ri

New Guide to Lead Safety in Historic Buildings in RI
Looking for information on how to plan a renovation project that will ensure the safety, character, and value of your historic building? This new guide has the answers. Learn if your building is historic and identify which historic features are important. Find out what you need to know about lead hazards. Evaluate options for lead hazard control. And discover financial incentives for work on historic buildings and on lead hazard reduction.

Explore resources, contacts, funding sources, and free publications--all for the Rhode Island property owner. Visit our pages on Lead Safety and download a pdf copy of the Guide. (11/16/07)

greystone Greystone Mill rehab underway in North Providence
The historic Greystone Textile Mill held a ground-breaking ceremony last week for a project to rehabilitate the vacant mill and create 150 new homes. Located at the heart of Greystone Mill Village, the renovation will preserve an important part of North Providence's history and will be a major economic development project for the town. Historic preservation tax credits, administered by RIHPHC, are critical to financing the project. headlines (10/29/07)
riverfront lofts Grow Smart Rhode Island releases RI HPITC studies
According to new studies released by Grow Smart Rhode Island, the RI Historic Preservation Investment Tax Credit Program is "generating thousands of jobs, nearly $2.5 billion in economic activity, more than $400 million in new tax revenues over the next 20 years for state and local government combined, several thousand new housing units - including more than 750 designated as affordable - as well as the cleanup of dozens of environmentally contaminated sites, often known as brownfields." Click here to access the study and additional information. (9/18/07)
green house Coventry's Greene House listed on National Register
A well-preserved Queen Anne house designed by Stone and Carpenter for a local mill owner was listed on the National Register. Built in 1883, the Christopher Rhodes Greene House in Harris mill village is significant to the history of architecture and Coventry's community development. (9/17/07)
st. ann's apts

3 RI finalists for national historic rehabilitation awards
The National Housing & Rehabilitation Association has announced that three RI projects have been selected as finalists for the prestigious "Timmy Awards." All three projects used historic preservation tax credits approved by the RIHPHC and the National Park Service. Congratulations to: St. Ann's Apartments (Woonsocket, to left), Parkis/North Elmwood Homeowner's Group Phase I (Providence), and Renaissance Providence Hotel (Providence). (9/5/07)
harris mill Coventry's Harris Mill listed on National Register
This Coventry textile mill complex was listed on the National Register for its contributions to the history of industry and architecture. Built in 1850, Harris Mill is a well-preserved example of stone industrial construction and an important landmark of the textile industry in the Pawtuxet River Valley. It also retains a significant collection of original hydro-mechanical, hydroelectric, and steam-electric power generation and transmission equipment. (8/28/07)
masonic temple

A renaissance 79 years in the making: Masonic Temple
Today marks the official public opening ceremony of the restored Masonic Temple as the Renaissance Providence Hotel. The major historic rehabilitation project was assisted by state and federal tax credits approved by the RIHPHC. “This is the most important historic rehabilitation in Rhode Island because it restores a landmark on Capitol Hill, erases eight decades of blight, and demonstrates the power of historic preservation as an economic development strategy,” said RIHPHC Executive Director Edward F. Sanderson. (8/21/07)

sidy maiga

Travel around the world in a day: RI's 30th Annual Heritage Festival
Join in a lively celebration of our state's rich cultural heritage. The RI Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission's ethnic subcommittees present the 30th Annual Heritage Festival on the State House Lawn, from noon to dusk on Saturday, August 25. Visit booths offering cultural displays, a mouth-watering array of traditional foods, and traditional craft demonstrations and exhibits from more than 18 different countries. Enjoy performances by international dancers and musicians dressed in native and colorful costumes. Visit the children’s area for face painting, and other arts and crafts. Admission to this family event is free. Rain date: August 26, 2007. (8/14/07)

prov gas co

Providence Gas Co. Purifier House listed on National Register
Built in 1900, the Providence Gas Company Purifier House (now called Conley's Wharf) received federal recognition for its contributions to the history of architecture and industry. The early steel-frame building on the Providence waterfront was rehabilitated using state and federal preservation tax credits. (7/24/07)

hale house Literary lair and family farm listed on National Register
Two historic Rhode Island places were recently listed on the National Register. Built in 1873, the summer home of author and religous leader Edward Everett Hale (left) was part of Matunuck's summer colony. In Portsmouth, the farmhouses, barn, outbuildings, stone walls, and landscape of Borden Farm are part of a remarkable rural property still owned by its original family. (6/22/07)
friends meeting house Two Little Compton sites listed on National Register
The National Register of Historic Places now includes two additional sites in Little Compton: the Friends Meeting House (left, built in 1815) and Cemetery and the historic Wilbor House Farmstead, with its collection of buildings that represent farmways and rural life from the 17th-20th centuries. Both properties are owned and maintained by the Little Compton Historical Society. (5/30/07)
rosedale Rosedale Apartments listed on National Register
An Art Moderne apartment building at 1180 Narragansett Boulevard in Cranston has been listed on the National Register of Historic Places. With its duochrome brick, glass block, steel-frame windows and stainless steel canopies, the Rosedale Apartments are significant as a rare, well-preserved example of 1930s Art Moderne architecture in a large-scale Rhode Island building. (5/24/07)
feldman furniture Downtown Pawtucket listed on National Register
Pawtucket's central business district has received federal recognition for its contributions to the history of architecture, community development, commerce, and industry. With its collection of architecturally significant banks, shops, offices, and civic buildings, the Downtown Pawtucket Historic District represents the city’s growth as a prosperous industrial city between the Civil War and World War I. articles (5/21/07)
spg sign
 Apply for a State Preservation Grant
Applications are available for the 2007 round of State Preservation Grants. The SPG program provides matching grants of $5000 to $100,000 to fund capital preservation projects at museums, cultural art centers, and public historic sites located in historic buildings. The RIHPHC will host an info session on the SPG program on Tues., June 5 at 10am. Applications will be due by July 27, 2007. more information (5/8/07)
earnscliffe

Olneyville textile mill listed on National Register
A textile mill complex in Providence’s Olneyville neighborhood has received federal recognition for its contributions to the history of industry. The Earnscliffe Woolen/Paragon Worsted Company Mill complex at 25 and 39 Manton Avenue embodies more than sixty years of woolen and worsted spinning, weaving, and spinning in Olneyville, one of the most heavily industrialized areas in the city of Providence. (4/26/07)
17 gordon ave RI Historic Preservation Awards announced
The green rehab of a business incubator space (left), two individualistic town halls, a local activist who is a national preservation leader, and the long-anticipated reinvention of the Masonic Temple—these are just 4 of the 2007 State Historic Preservation Awards, all of which will be honored at the RI Statewide Historic Preservation Conference on Saturday, April 14 in Pawtucket. RIHPHC selects the State Historic Preservation Awards from nominations by the public to recognize individuals, organizations, and projects for their contributions to the preservation of RI's historic resources. (4/2/07)
grace cemetery stones Local preservation projects earn grants
RIHPHC awarded $48,000 in grants to seven projects in five communities. Projects include a National Register nomination for a Providence historic district, landscape research for Grace Church Cemetery (left), improved historical documentation for Block Island, the 2008 statewide preservation conference, and planning for town and state-owned buildings in Bristol, Pawtucket, and North Kingstown. (3/6/07)
pawtucket trolley Something old, something green
Registration is open for the 22nd Annual RI Statewide Historic Preservation Conference in Pawtucket on Saturday, April 14, 2007. Visit the conference website or download a program (pdf). We will consider Historic Preservation as a sustainable, innovative, environmentally sensitive, green movement. article (2/22/07)
desurmont

Two more National Register listings
The National Register recently added a Woonsocket mill complex and a Westerly hotel to its official list of properties whose historical and architectural significance makes them worthy of preservation. Built in 1907-1925, the Jules Desurmont Worsted Mill is important to Woonsocket's social, architectural, and industrial history. Weekapaug Inn (1939) is a significant example of Rhode Island's seaside architecture. (2/21/07)

bridgeton school Bridgeton School listed on National Register
A historic school built in the mill village of Bridgeton in 1897 has been listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The building documents patterns of local settlement and development as well as the history of public education in Burrillville. The Burrillville Historical & Preservation Society operates Bridgeton School as a museum of local history and maintains the appearance of a school built for local children a century ago. (2/14/07)
bourne mill

Two New National Register Listings
RIHPHC announced that the Bourne Mill (left) on the Tiverton, RI/Fall River, MA border and Greenwich Mill in Warwick have been listed in the National Register of Historic Places. These two textile mills are undergoing rehabilitation with the use of Rhode Island Historic Preservation Investment Tax Credits. (2/12/07)

103 clay st., central falls Call for nominations: 2007 RI Historic Preservation Awards
Each year, RIHPHC presents State Historic Preservation Awards to honor individuals, organizations, and projects for outstanding contributions to the preservation of our state's historic resources. RIHPHC seeks nominations for the 2007 Awards, to be presented at the Annual Conference on Saturday, April 14 in Pawtucket. Nomination deadline is February 12! Nomination form (1/17/07)
howard shed
click on image to enlarge

Historic carriage shed available for salvage
The State of Rhode Island will consider proposals for the salvage of the c.1870 carriage shed for the original State Institutions at Howard. A long, 1-story, wood structure with vertical flush-board siding and a shed roof, it has 12 carriage bays with individual overhead doors under a curved canopy supported by decorative timber struts. The carriage shed must be removed in the near future. The suitability of the proposed reuse will be a consideration in the evaluation of the salvage proposals. Contact: Richard Greenwood, RIHPHC, (401)222-4134 (1/17/07)