PROVIDENCE – One of the most endangered historical properties in Providence is expected to be preserved as a community library.
St. Teresa of Avila Church, constructed in the 1883, on Manton Avenue in Olneyville, will be converted to an expanded branch of the Providence Community Library, ONE Neighborhood Builders has announced.
The Providence Redevelopment Agency has acquired the church building, vacant for the past six years, on behalf of the community development group. The acquisition was made possible through property taxes generated by the Eagle Square Tax Increment Financing district.
The former Roman Catholic church has been identified for the past two years as one of the city’s most endangered properties, according to the Providence Preservation Society.
St. Teresa was constructed of red brick in a classical style, a departure from the traditional Gothic style, stone architecture of earlier Catholic churches in Providence. At that time, the Olneyville neighborhood was highly industrialized and fast-growing. The church closed in 2009.
