To the Editor:
Bernie, a fellow Brown alumnus, yelled at me from across the street the other day
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as I was walking on Westminster Street near Union Street, “I’ll buy you a
cup of coffee if you will show me where the ‘Renaissance’ is along this section of
Westminster Street.”
He was referring to all the near vacant stores and buildings such as the former Rounds Leather store, the near vacant Alice Building, the near
vacant Old Providence Journal Building, the vacant Kresge Building, the vacant
Burrill Building, the near vacant Dorrance Building and others.
After we had coffee Bernie left and I returned to Westminster Street with my camera to photograph the buildings shown. The great classical architecture that exists between Dorrance Street and Empire Street will never again be built in Providence or elsewhere. No wonder Arnold Robinson at the Providence Preservation Society fights so hard to stop demolition of any of these architectural gems.
After photographing the buildings I examined the exteriors and interiors in detail. The old Providence Journal Building, which was extensively rehabilitated a few years ago, is starting to look seedy and is mostly vacant except for a few shops on the ground floor. The Roger Williams Building which used to house Rounds Leather requires major repairs to the facade. Vacant buildings deteriorate quickly when owners are not receiving tenant income.
There are those who are trying to bring Westminster Street back such as Stanley Weiss with the elegant old Tilden Thurber Building and Joe Paolino with the building that houses the Daily Bread Store. Johnson & Wales is rehabilitating their buildings. But their efforts will be for naught if the large majority of the buildings remain vacant and continue to deteriorate for another 25 years.
A few days after my walk on Westminster Street I was in Boston on business and had an excellent lunch in a small Italian restaurant on Newbury Street. After, I was walking along Newbury Street and noticed the many fine shops and stores that have been placed in old buildings with classical architecture. I returned to my car for my camera and took the attached pictures of shops such as Burberrys, Allen Edmonds, Cartier, Versace, Giorgio Armani, Banana Republic and Ann Taylor.
These same stores and shops could be placed in the near vacant buildings along Westminster Street. As a matter of fact the classical architecture on Westminster Street is better than that on Newbury Street. Upscale shops in such fine buildings would revive the heart of Providence and bring related businesses to the upper floors of these buildings on Westminster Street.
In talking with several shop and store managers on Newbury Street I learned that the giant Copley Place Mall with it’s connecting Prudential Shops is only a block from Newbury Street, yet the mall and Newbury Street shops both do very well. This situation is similar to that which will exist between Westminster Street and the Providence Place Mall.
Interestingly, there is very little parking on Newbury Street and no parking garages close by. In spite of this the shops and stores do very well. Managers say their customers arrive on foot, are dropped off or use taxi cabs. This little parking situation is similar to that on Westminster Street.
I asked a manager why his company had a store on Newbury Street and a store a block away in the Copley Place Mall. She said there are customers who do not like to shop in the mall but prefer the excellent service they get on Newbury Street. They also like to dine in the excellent nearby restaurants such as those in the Ritz Hotel.
When questioned about opening a store on Westminster Street in Providence managers showed interest but said they had never been approached by anyone on this before. They said it is important to have an association formed which controls what is done on the street. They have the Newbury Street League which reviews all new tenants and store modifications along with the preservation society.
The owners of buildings on Westminster Street should approach the corporate headquarters of such upscale shops as those on Newbury Street to see if they would be willing to establish branch shops in Providence. This might solve the 25 year old vacancy problem and restore the heart of downtown Providence.
Sincerely
Peter R. Cruise
Telephone 401-751-2676
Enclosure
