Commercial Block

Wilcox Building // 1875

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Located next to the cast-iron Equitable Building on Weybosset Street in Downtown Providence, the equally stunning Wilcox Building enhances this streetscape with its ornate Victorian Gothic facade. The Wilcox Building was constructed in 1875 from plans by Edwin L. Howland, an expert in the Ruskinian/Victorian Gothic style, and is L-shaped, surrounding the corner Equitable Building. The brick with stone trim building features exterior articulation including radiating voussoir arches over the windows, heavily carved pier and column capitals, and string courses. The building’s original owner, Dutee Wilcox (1834-1918), came to Providence as an impoverished jeweler’s apprentice in his twenties, and after a few decades, saw success under his own management, eventually building this structure for his business. The Wilcox Building was continuously used for both professional office and commercial space until a fire gutted the building in 1975. Luckily, instead of demolition, the owners at the time sought to renovate and restore the building, aided by city, state and federal agencies. It reopened in 1979.

Conrad Building // 1885

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The Conrad Building on Westminster Street in Downtown Providence is an ornate and over-the-top masterpiece designed by one of the city’s premier architectural firms for an eccentric owner. Erected by Jerothmul Bowers Barnaby (1830-1889), a self made millionaire, commonly known as “Rhode Island’s Clothing Prince” who owned manufacturing plants for clothing throughout the city, the building was named after his son-in-law, John H. Conrad. Owner, J. B. Barnaby, lived in an eclectic mansion on Broadway, known as Barnaby’s Castle, which was designed by the firm of Stone, Carpenter & Willson, like this commercial block built as an investment in 1885. Originally used for professional offices, the structure had long been occupied as artist and photography studios on the upper floors. Eclectic in style, the Conrad Building blends Queen Anne, Romanesque Revival, and Moorish Revival styles into a single composition, with a four-story cast-iron tower at the corner capped by a Moorish ogival dome, panel brickwork, round arched windows and recessed openings, projecting bays, cast-iron storefronts, and an oversized arch with its name, “Conrad Building”, ornamental carvings, and the initials “J. B.” for its owner, all completed in brownstone.

Studley Building // 1894

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Designed by local architect George Waterman Cady, this handsome six-story commercial block on Weybosset Street in Downtown Providence, is an excellent and well-preserved example of the Romanesque Revival style popular in such structures at the end of the 19th century in New England. The building was constructed in 1894 for owner, George Henry Darling (1827-1897), a Civil War veteran and Principal in T. Curtis & Company, brush makers, as an office building as an investment. The light brick facade is decorated with a two-story columned storefront with large plate glass windows, paired round-head windows on the fifth floor, a heavy modilllon cornice and brownstone trim detail. The building was recently renovated in 2023 and converted into apartments by Paolino Properties.

Tilden-Thurber Building // 1895

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The ornately ornamented Tilden-Thurber Building sits on Westminster Street in Downtown Providence, and served as somewhat of a jewel box for its original owners, the Tilden-Thurber Company. Tilden-Thurber was a prominent 19th- and 20th-century luxury goods retailer, jeweler, and silversmith, founded in 1856 by Henry Tilden and William Thurber, retailing fine timepieces, custom silverware, decorative art, and commemorative items. The company had its main store at the corner of Westminster and Mathewson streets built in 1895 from plans by the Boston architectural firm of Shepley, Rutan & Coolidge, which resulted in this immaculate, four-story masonry block. Classically inspired, the design features large plate glass storefronts framed by an intricate carved stone surround at the street level and on the upper floors, colossal engaged and rusticated columns. The Tilden-Thurber Company filed for bankruptcy in 1991 and the future of this landmark was uncertain for years until the building sold in 2016 to former mayor and longtime developer Joseph Paolino.

Richmond Building // 1876

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The Victorian Gothic style Richmond Building on Weybosset Street in Downtown Providence, is one of the more interesting late 19th century commercial buildings in the city, as the more you look at it, the more you notice! The Richmond Building was constructed in 1876 seemingly as an investment for Dr. Fenner Harris Peckham, who rented out professional offices and retail space inside the building. The structure gets its name from its proximity to Richmond Street, and stands out architecturally for its polychromatic brick with tile, Gothic-arch niche flanked by colonettes on the facade, and truncated corner with later rounded corner window.

Atlantic Bank Building // 1866

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Constructed in 1866, this small three-story brick building with stone facade has miraculously survived over 150 years of the ebbs and flows of Downtown Providence development. The Atlantic Bank Building is located on Weybosset Street adjacent to the Westminster Arcade, and is among the area’s most ornate and well-preserved facades. The structure was constructed to house the Atlantic Bank, which incorporated in 1853. The bank did well financially and eventually moved to a new building in 1906 before financial shortfalls and shady dealings led to its closure in 1913. In the early 20th century, the Atlantic Bank Building was home to offices, a photography studio, and the Ashman House Coffee Shop. A restoration in 1978 helped preserve the building’s rounded windows, elaborate corbels, and finials over the second floor and at the cornice.

Westminster Arcade // 1828

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Westminster Street Facade

The Westminster Arcade, also known as the Providence Arcade, in Downtown Providence, was built in 1828 as the first enclosed shopping mall in the United States. Built in 1828, the Arcade extends a full block between Westminster and Weybosset streets and is a landmark early example of the Greek Revival style. The Arcade was designed by architect, Russell Warren who collaborated with Tallman & Bucklin on the design, who were likely inspired by early shopping arcades in Europe. When the granite building opened, the mall featured three floors of shops, each designed around the central promenade illuminated by skylights in the ceiling, which provided illumination until the incorporation of electric light, which in this sense, is strikingly similar to the modern shopping malls of the mid-to-late 1900s. As suburbanization and retail shopping struggles post-WWII occurred in Downtown Providence, the Arcade experienced high tenant turnover, with the upper floors particularly struggling to attract businesses. After various restorations of the National Historic Landmark, the building reopened in 2013 with office and retail spaces on the ground floor and 48 affordable apartments on the upper two stories, providing an innovative mixed-use way to preserve and fund this important building.

Weybosset Street Facade

Earle Building // c.1898

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A very late example of a Second Empire style commercial block, the Earle Building on Washington Street in Downtown Providence stands as a handsome addition to the urban environment with its human scale and high-quality design. The building is said to have been built by William H. Earle with retail storefronts at the street with offices above. William Earle was a partner in the company, Earle & Prew, an express mailing company (similar to Fedex today). The relatively simple massing is broken up by two-story projecting oriel bays.

Shepard’s Department Store Block // 1903

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Do you remember Shepard’s Department Store?


At the corner of Westminster and Union Streets in Downtown Providence stands the Shepard Company Building, a hulking reminder of the late 19th and early 20th century dominance of the department store and the American downtown as a retail destination. The company opened in 1880 in a modest 6,400-square-foot storefront, and saw immediate success, eventually occupying an entire city block. The company grew piecemeal into neighboring buildings between 1880-1903 when the entire 300,000+ square foot block was completed from plans by Martin & Hall, architects. Architecturally, the building tells its own history in layers: it started as a modest three-story Italianate structure, and later additions brought two-story arched entrances angled into the corners at Westminster and Union, and Washington and Union, that once lured shoppers inside to terrazzo floors with a sea of merchandise. Outside, a freestanding cast-iron clock became a beloved meeting point, with generations of Rhode Islanders arranging to gather “at the clock”. A massive fire in March 1923, caused over one million dollars’ worth of damage, but the structure was restored under Hall’s supervision. Shepard’s closed in 1974 and remained vacant for almost 20 years. After advocacy from preservationists, the building was bought by the State of Rhode Island and was rehabilitated by David Presbrey, the building is now the location of the Providence Campus of the University of Rhode Island, the Rhode Island Department of Education, and other state offices and education-related facilities.

Packard Motor Car Showroom // 1915

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This two-story commercial building at the corner of Washington and Empire streets in Downtown Providence, Rhode Island, is one of the finest structures executed in terracotta in the state. The building was erected in 1915 for the Packard Motor Company as a car showroom, with large plate glass windows to display the newest vehicles inside. Records differ on the architect, with many stating that Albert Kahn, a Detroit-based architect who designed many factories for the company, furnished the designs. He apparently did submit a design, but the company ultimately went with Rhode Island architect, John Hutchins Cady, to design the showroom. The terracotta ornamentation is similar to what is found on nearby theaters and commercial buildings downtown, making the area a sort of a museum for terracotta facades. The building has been occupied by restaurants for much of the 20th and 21st centuries.

Arnold Building // 1896

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Located next door to the narrow George C. Arnold Building on Washington Street in Downtown Providence, the 1896 Arnold Building was constructed by George’s father, who was also a real estate developer. The Arnold Building was designed by local architect Clifton A. Hall for William Rhodes Arnold (1839-1912), who employed innovative design details to make the modestly priced building stand out architecturally and provide additional light inside. The yellow brick building is notable for its upper floors with segmental arched windows, prismatic bay windows, and patterned brickwork panels and cornice which adds a lot of texture to the facade. The building serves as an important low-rise commercial building in Providence, which enhances the walkable streets there. 

Slade Building // 1881

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The Slade Building on Washington Street in Downtown Providence represents the architectural flourish and blending of architectural styles that typified commercial blocks in major New England cities in the late 19th century. The commercial block was named and built for owner, George H. Slade, who was involved in real estate development along with his role as part-owner of Westcott, Slade and Balcom, a paint manufacturing company. The building was designed by Rhode Island architect, Clifton A. Hall (1826-1913) who primarily worked locally. After George’s death, the property remained in the family, and in 1895, the corner tower, also designed by Hall, was added as a way to modernize and bring in new tenants. The block has been rehabilitated and is one of the finest and best-preserved examples of a late 19th century commercial building in Downtown Providence.

Caesar Misch Building // 1903

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One of the many great commercial blocks in Downtown Providence, the narrow Caesar Misch Building runs along Empire Street between Westminster and Chapel streets as a well-preserved early 20th century building. Designed by the architectural firm of Martin & Hall for owner, Caesar Misch (1857-1908) as one of his department stores. Caesar Misch was born in Berlin, Germany and immigrated to the United States, eventually settling in Providence. There, he opened a department store and saw immediate success, opening more throughout New England in the early 20th century. After his unexpected death in 1908, his wife, Marion Misch (1869-1941) took control of the business, becoming the first woman in New England to head a department store. The Downtown Providence building stands six-stories and is notable for its brick walls with contrasting elaborate stone frieze and window surrounds.

Warwick Building // 1891

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Downtown Providence has amazing 19th and 20th century commercial blocks of all shapes and sizes. This example at the corner of Weybosset and Richmond streets dates to 1891 and has historically been known as the Warwick Building. While just three-stories tall, the Warwick Building stands out for its two-story domed turret on the corner, rough-faced stone lintels and sills, and brick corbeled cornice. The building is a great, human-scaled addition to Downtown Providence and has served as a vital anchor to the streetscape.

Old Marion Meeting House – Marion General Store // 1799

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Tucked into the heart of Wharf Village, the main village in the charming coastal community of Marion, Massachusetts, this building which is known today as the Marion General Store, wears its history quietly beneath a deceptively simple Greek Revival facade. The structure was constructed in 1799 as Marion’s first Congregational Meeting House, where religious services of the congregational church were conducted before the separation of church and state. The construction of this wood-frame building did more than give the faithful a place to worship, it anchored Wharf Village as the commercial and civic center of town, setting in motion the currents that would eventually set Marion off from its mother-town, Rochester in 1852. By the 1830s, the old meeting house was in poor condition, and along with the push for a separation of church and state and tax dollars no longer going to the Congregational Church, a grander Greek Revival church was built across the street. The Old Meeting House was also renovated in the Greek Revival style and operated as Delano Hall, a store with dance hall and meeting space on the upper floor. The building lives on today as the Marion General Store, with its old clapboards and pilastes holding the layered history and architecture of the seaside community that grew up around it from working port town to wealthy coastal village.