Caroline Stevens is the director of Doors Open Rhode Island, a nonprofit that is organizing a festival on Sept. 23 that will literally “open the doors” of some of Providence’s hidden gems. The free, self-guided tours will allow people to explore the inner spaces of sites including the Providence City Hall attic, Barnaby Castle, the Nature Lab at Rhode Island School of Design, the Columbus Theatre and the Cathedral of St. John.
Twenty-three locations are on the list for the inaugural event, available at www.doorsopenri.org. Seventy-five volunteers have been recruited, and more than 1,000 people are expected. Stevens, who previously directed the Open House Chicago event, spoke recently to the Providence Business News about the upcoming event.
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PBN: What is the Doors Open Festival and how is it organized?
STEVENS: It is part of a worldwide [movement] of Doors Open events. It’s a free, citywide open house festival. For one day, we’re opening the doors of more than 20 locations that normally aren’t open to the public, and without reservations. We’re sharing the keys to the city with the people. It’s 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. but the hours of each site vary.
The idea is you can pick and choose where you want to go. The guide will be distributed in the September issue of Providence Monthly. And RIPTA for that day will be giving the participants free bus passes. Wherever your first site is, pick up your bus pass there.
PBN: How did you find the locations, and convince the owners of the properties to open their doors?
STEVENS: For the most part, people take a lot of pride in the places they’re connected to and are very eager to show them off. Everyone is always looking for new audiences or ways of connecting with the public. That’s not to say, I definitely got several nos. We tried to get the Hurricane Barrier.
PBN: If someone has just a few hours, for maybe three sites, what are a few of the must-sees?
STEVENS: An easy one is the Benefit Street Arsenal building. Normally, it’s only open for the 103rd Field Artillery. This building dates to 1842. It definitely played a role in the Civil War. It’s a gathering space for veterans. You can’t often see it and also, upstairs, above the drill hall, there is an incredible collection of war memorabilia, dating back to the Civil War.
Barnaby’s Castle is another. It’s a Victorian mansion on Broadway Street. It’s huge. And it has turrets and every single Victorian embellishment you can imagine on the inside and out. It’s perfectly preserved. Leather ceilings and incredible ornate details. It’s in the process of restoration.
Rhode Island Public Radio is interesting. It shows the festival is not just about architecture or buildings, but how does the city work. They’re opening their studios. They have two studio rooms. You will learn how radio is mixed and then streamed to your home. You also have the potential of meeting some of those voices you hear every day. And you’ll have the opportunity to record your own voice.
And the Beneficent Congregational Church, really [is] one of the coolest sites. Because you’re actually going to be able to get up inside that dome. There is only one way in and one way out.
PBN: Providence City Hall will be opening its attic. What makes that space so special?
STEVENS: I think of it as the city’s attic. Some of the city’s archives are up in that attic. I think of it like it could be our own treasures, in our own attics. It’s also a magnificent and grand space and gets you into the mechanics of the building. There is a giant air vent that runs up through the center of the building. There is a spiral staircase that gives you access to the roof, although we won’t be getting access to the roof. In terms of that vent, it gives you a sense of the older mechanics of the building.
PBN: The Hudson Furs business is on the tour. Is interest from the “Crimetown” podcast the reason why this is featured?
STEVENS: That was really what brought it to our attention. There has been a lot of interest in “Crimetown,” and we are playing off that to a degree. There is the vault door, the original vault door. [In 1975] this was the site of the largest heist in New England history. There are different versions of what happened. It was a fur company then and it is a fur company now, but the ownership has changed. They’re going to have a “clean out the vault sale” on the day of the tour.
Mary MacDonald is a PBN staff writer. Email her at MacDonald@PBN.com, or you can follow her on Twitter @MaryF_MacDonald.
