Believe it or not, this 23-story reinforced-concrete tower in Downtown Providence, Rhode Island, was designed by the same firm as the Empire State Building in New York City! The Old Stone Bank Tower (now known as Textron Tower for its largest tenant) was designed in 1969 and completed in 1972 from plans by the New York architectural firm of Shreve, Lamb & Harmon, as the new headquarters and offices for the Old Stone Bank in Providence. The bank was originally located in a stately stone building nearby on South Main Street, before expanding operations into this new skyscraper, the fifth tallest in Rhode Island. The exterior of the tower is formed by a grid of aggregate concrete containing deeply recessed, dark windows inside. At the street, the tower sits elevated behind a podium of marble, harming its street condition. Architecturally, the break in the grid for the exposed corners is a nice touch, and while some say the building is “reminiscent of prison architecture”, I feel that there are much worse examples of architecture. What do you think?
