In February, This Old House magazine released its annual list of Best Old Neighborhoods for 2010 and included included Cranston on the list. The magazine’s editors said they searched the country for “oft-overlooked neighborhoods populated by people who share an appreciation of finely crafted homes that have plenty of past and lots of future.” Keith Pandolfi, associate editor of This Old House magazine, recently took some time to tell Providence Business News about the list and why the magazine selected Cranston.
PBN: How did This Old House magazine come up with the idea to highlight the Best Old Neighborhoods?
PANDOLFI: It sprang from a monthly column we used to do called “Destinations.” In it, we would feature a specific neighborhood that we thought our readers might be interested in visiting – whether they were looking to buy an older house, or just find inspiration for restoring their current one. After a while, we started receiving scores of letters and e-mails from readers who wanted us to know more about their own neighborhoods – neighborhoods they truly believed were worth a visit by anyone with a passion for the types of houses often featured in our magazine. We were impressed by how proud they were of their respective nabes, so we decided to give everyone a chance to tell us about their own great old house neighborhoods by creating the contest.
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PBN: What general criteria did editors use for selecting the communities?
PANDOLFI: We looked at a number of different things – architectural diversity, craftsmanship of the homes, and the preservation momentum in the area, as well as neighborhood amenities including safety and walkability. We also tried to identify more intangible attributes, such as community spirit. We wanted places where residents could often be found gathering on front porches in the warm weather, attending monthly potluck dinners or fiercely supporting the local high school football team in the fall. We looked for neighborhoods where people restoring or maintaining their homes would truly feel apart of something special.
PBN: Can you expand a little on what attracted you to Cranston specifically?
PANDOLFI: Well, it’s sort of an underdog of a city, in that it’s often overshadowed by Providence. There is also a bit of a misconception when it comes to Cranston as a market for older homes. When a lot of people think of it, they first things that pops into their heads are the newer housing developments and strip mall of the city’s west side. We wanted to call attention to the eastern side, with its old wood-shingled Capes and Colonials, as well as the wealth of Victorian-era homes. We also found Cranston to be a pretty affordable place to live relative to a lot of other New England towns.
PBN: Rhode Island has some other historic housing stock, dating back to as early as the 18th century in places such as Newport and Providence. Why pass over such areas?
PANDOLFI: We want to draw attention to neighborhoods that are generally overlooked by outsiders. If you look at this year’s winners, you’ll notice that the majority of them aren’t exactly household names. While many people think of Charleston when it comes to older homes in South Carolina, we focused on Beaufort. Instead of Boston, we chose Springfield, Massachusetts. And while Newport draws thousands of tourists each, we thought Cranston – and the people who are restoring and maintaining its finest, most architecturally significant houses – deserved a shout out of its own.
PBN: Can we expect to see Cranston highlighted anywhere else, say on the “This Old House” television program?
PANDOLFI: Unfortunately, I cannot answer because I work on the magazine, not the show. Projects for the show are usually chosen about a year out.
