When Erik Bright purchased a Depression-era set of warehouses in 2016, the buildings had seen better times.
Encrusted with graffiti and in disrepair, the warehouses on Rathbone Street in Providence had once held dry goods, candy, tobacco products and other goods for distribution, including for sale at an open-air market known as the Governor Dyer Farmers Market.
With renovations complete, a small piece of the city’s commercial history is preserved as Rathbone Studios.
Two design-oriented tenants have moved in, supplementing an area of the Valley neighborhood that is being called the Valley Art District.
The three buildings Bright purchased for $130,000, at 47-53 Rathbone St., are now divided into five units. Each space has renovated room for displays or retail space in the front, with back areas that could be used for work rooms or storage. The units range in size from 500 square feet to 6,000 square feet, although Bright expects to divide the largest unit into smaller studios, as needed.
The property website describes the dimensions of each unit and explains that tenants could include small businesses and manufacturers who make up an emerging community of culinary artists, brewers, fabricators and designers.
Building 2, for example, at 51 Rathbone St., has 4,020 square feet available, two walk-in coolers, basement storage and loading docks. The tenants could include a brewery, distillery, culinary artists or a kitchen studio.
Bright, who previously renovated the Monohasset Mill in Providence, said he was attracted to the buildings on Rathbone by the area’s history and potential as an anchor for design and culinary businesses.
Across the parking lot, just one business remains from the days of the farmers market: Al-Jac’s Wine Grapes. Now run by its third generation, the family-owned business is operated by Albert Jacavone and sells produce and wine grapes to restaurants and merchants.
His building dates to 1938 and has art deco motifs on the roofline.
‘The more businesses the better. The more neighbors the better.’
ALBERT JACAVONE, Al-Jac’s Wine Grapes owner
Jacavone, who has 12 full-time and eight seasonal employees, said he was happy to see the new neighbors.
“The more businesses the better,” he said. “The more neighbors the better.”
The first tenant attracted to the renovated space was Fierce! Jewels, a costume-jewelry design business that relocated to Providence from Dallas. Owners John Griffin and Jacob Lane said they were attracted to Providence by its history and network of established businesses in the costume-jewelry industry.
They have a niche in creating statement jewelry worn by drag performers, show-girls and stage performers, as well as jewelry aimed at couture bridal gown and special-occasion dress designers.
In Providence, Griffin said he can readily obtain vintage stones, crystals and rhinestones and have them electroplated for his designs without shipping fees. Previously, he had to ship the raw materials to Dallas, then send them back to the East Coast for finishing.
The leased space at Rathbone Studios is primarily their work space but allows the owners to meet with dress designers who want to view finished samples.
Bright finished the interior of the studio front to suit their needs, including a delicate wall finish and tiles on the ceiling that mimic the look of an antique tin.
Another tenant is The Steel Yard, which has moved some of its arts programming into Building 1, at 53 Rathbone St.
The Steel Yard, which is renovating its headquarters to make its studios accessible year-round, has moved its public projects to Rathbone Studios, said Tim Ferland, the public-projects director for the organization.
In the Rathbone Studios, the organization found office space, studio space and a community where it’s OK if they make some noise, he said. The location is less than a half-mile from its Sims Avenue base, too.
“The building is great. It is offering us exactly what we need. We are able to pull our trucks in there and unload materials,” he said.
For his part, Bright has renovated the building interiors to showcase their history, installing new lighting and refinishing the original floors. He repaired the exterior awning and front walkway, making it accessible to people who use wheelchairs.
He’s saved all of the original signs that once hung outside, and which he found stored inside, each indicating a succession of owners. They include New England Tobacco, Candy and Paper and International Importing Co. Inc., whose sign is made of antique tin, and hand-lettered.
Ten years ago, Bright was among those who tried to prevent the Carpionato Group from tearing down the Fruit and Produce Warehouse building, a historic structure which had anchored the former farmers market. Carpionato argued it was a hazard.
The loss of that building informed his purchase of 47 Rathbone, Bright said.
“With Albert’s across the street, and this being the last of the farmers market buildings, I wanted to make sure it was saved,” he said.
Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at Macdonald@PBN.com.
Great job preserving those buildings. My family owned and operated the Gov. Dyer Restaurant that was both in the farmers market, then across the street in the building that no longer exists.