Media Coverage
In the News
Local media covers the latest from PPS — from the Most Endangered Places list to our programming and events. We compile the recent articles that are worth the read.
Press mentions, newest first. All links go to external news sources.
What’s happening with the Shakespeare’s Head building? Here’s what’s coming next.
By Wheeler Cowperthwaite | June. 27, 2025
A new nonprofit organization has been formed to take ownership of the Shakespeare’s Head building in Providence, one of the oldest buildings in the city, after the Providence Preservation Society looked for a buyer, discovered the house’s connections to slavery, pulled it off the market to do more research, and then put it back up for sale.
Providence Preservation Society Executive Director Marisa Brown made the original decision to pull the Shakespeare’s Head building, also known as the John Carter House, from the market after research indicated it had a history entwined with slavery.
Atlantic Mills headed for redevelopment. Here’s what’s at stake
By Marisa Angell Brown | June 26, 2025
The last time the Atlantic Mills changed hands, it was 1954 and the 350,000-square-foot textile mill had just ceased production the year before. At that point, the textile mill had been in operation for close to 100 years, first producing delaine – a mix of wool and cotton – before switching over to worsted wool around the time of the Civil War.
A new website explores the past and uncertain future of the historic Atlantic Mills in Providence
By Dan McGowan | June 25, 2025
The sale of of the massive Atlantic Mills complex in Providence’s Olneyville neighborhood closed last week, officially ending decades of family ownership. But the future of the Manton Avenue property remains uncertain, especially for the artists and other tenants that remain in the building.
Now the Providence Preservation Society, which has already designated the complex on its annual “Most Endangered Properties” list, is shining a light on Atlantic Mills with a new website and collection of stories about it.
Details of a 250-year-old R.I. home’s ties to slavery were uncovered last year. Now its future lies in its past.
By Christopher Gavin | June 17, 2025
Just like the shingles that adorn its exterior, words have played a pivotal role in shaping this 18th century Providence home on Meeting Street.
John Carter, who owned the 1772 house with his wife, Amey, printed and published the city’s first newspaper, the Providence Gazette, there following his apprenticeship as a printer under Benjamin Franklin.
Rhode Island may get its first LGBTQ location on the national historic register. Here’s how.
By Nish Kohli | Jan. 29, 2025
For the first time in Rhode Island, Providence is on track to add a designated LGBTQ+ landmark to the National Register of Historic Places. The Providence Preservation Society (PPS) was awarded nearly $75,000 from the National Park Service to research sites associated with LGBTQ+ history and to nominate a location for the register over the next two years.
What’s next for the Cranston Street Armory? Vacant building draws renewed interest
By Antonia Noori Farzan | Jan. 28, 2025
The hushed halls of the Cranston Street Armory are empty aside from a goggle-eyed Raggedy Ann doll staring down from a dusty wooden balcony, mouth fixed in a permanent grimace. On the whiteboard in the dollhouse-like kitchen below, someone has scrawled, “Whom cares?” The castle-like building feels like it’s under a curse.
From Smith Hill to Superman: Here are Providence’s ‘most endangered places’ in 2025
By Nish Kohli | Jan. 24, 2025
The Providence Preservation Society released its 2025 Most Endangered Places list this week, featuring locations that touch on the city’s rental crisis and unmask the “hyper-local real estate monopolies” taking over the city’s north side.
Providence Preservation Society identifies nine companies buying up homes around Providence College
By Steve Ahlquist | Jan. 23, 2025
Providence Preservation Society (PPS) announced its 2025 Most Endangered Places List at its Annual Meeting on January 22. The list includes the neighborhoods abutting Providence College in Elmhurst, Smith Hill, and Wanskuck. Rapid redevelopment and some targeted demolition have turned single- and mutli-family homes into mostly rental properties for students.