The Providence Preservation Society yesterday announced its 2008 Most Endangered Properties List, which this year includes a Smith Hill theater, an East Side carriage house and a structure that some might not even consider a building, PPS interim Executive Director Vicki Veh said.
PPS released its first Most Endangered Properties list in 1994. Owners of the listed properties are notified in advance, Veh told Providence Business News last week, adding that “the list is not meant to be a finger-pointing exercise, but rather a highlighting exercise to bring attention to these properties and ideally to help the owners find ways to restore them.”
The 2008 Most Endangered list includes the well-known Castle Theater on Chalkstone Avenue and the Earl P. Mason Carriage House on Benefit Street.
Another structure on the list, the Fieldstone Trolley Shelter on Blackstone Boulevard, may not be considered a building by some, Veh said. However, it is an “important aspect of the built environment, which is what we’re all about, it’s our mission,” she said.
The complete 2008 list is:
1. Angell Street – the streetscape between Thayer and Brown Streets.
2. The Castle Theater – 1039 Chalkstone Ave.
3. The Cathedral of St. John – 271 North Main St.
4. The Teste Building – 88 Dorrance St.
5. Fieldstone Trolley Shelter – 585 Blackstone Blvd.
7. The Earl P. Mason Carriage House – 296 Benefit St.
8. Asa Messer Elementary School – 158 Messer St.
9. The former R.I. Department of Transportation headquarters and garage – 30 Arline St.
10. The Capt. Joseph Tillinghast House – 403 South Main St.
The Providence Preservation Society, founded in 1956, is a nonprofit membership organization whose mission is to improve the quality of life in Providence through historic preservation and the enhancement of the building environment. Additional information about the Providence Preservation Society and its programs is available at www.ppsri.org.
