PPS’ annual Most Endangered Property list is our organization’s signature statement on the stewardship of Providence’s rich architectural legacy. This year’s list puts a focus on publicly-owned buildings, an effort to emphasize the urgency of decades of deferred maintenance, neglect, or underutilization that is reaching a critical point. In 2023, we have included the entirety of the Providence Public School District’s 4.2 million square feet of building space on the list. PPSD identifies only five percent of its property as high quality learning facilities, with an average age of 75 for a Providence school building and many more than 100 years old. Other public properties on the list include the RIDOT headquarters and garage on Smith Hill, the Humboldt Avenue Fire Station, and the Urban League of Rhode Island site. The Superman Building also appears on the list for the ninth time. (Pictured: Asa Messer Elementary School)
2023 Most Endangered Properties List
- Industrial Trust Building (aka Superman Building), 111 Westminster Street, Downtown (1928)
- Asa Messer Elementary School, 158 Messer Street, West End (ca. 1890)
- Humboldt Fire Station, 155 Humboldt Avenue, Wayland (1906)
- Providence Gas Co. Purifier House, 200 Allens Avenue, South Providence (1900)
- RIDOT Headquarters and Garage, 30 Arline Street, Smith Hill (1927)
- Standard Wholesale Liquors Co., 115 Harris Avenue, Smith Hill (1937)
- Urban League of Rhode Island Site, 246 Prairie Avenue, Upper South Providence (ca. 1970s)
- Providence Public Schools, Citywide (various)
- Providence Infrastructure, Citywide (various)
Click here for full details on all listed properties