Leadership Circle

PPS’s work to keep this city historic and vibrant may be challenging, but we remain committed to championing beautiful structures and parks alongside necessary and thoughtful development. Our generous community of donors enable us to continue to advocate for Providence, so thank you for considering a tax-deductible donation to support our work.

The Antoinette Downing Leadership Circle (ADLC) recognizes Providence Preservation Society donors who demonstrate a high level of commitment to PPS’ mission through their generous personal support and/or by making an unrestricted annual contribution of $1,000 or more.

ADLC members care deeply about the historic character of Providence and know that PPS’s mission of advocacy for historic preservation and thoughtful design and planning is a key component for the success of Providence’s future. ADLC Members receive the following benefits:

Recognition in our Preservation Month e-newsletter and Annual Report
Acknowledgment on the PPS website
Four tickets to the Festival of Historic Houses AND
Four tickets to a VIP Reception

Please contact PPS for further information on the Antoinette Downing Leadership Circle. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by federal law. You may also waive all benefits, making the full amount of your contribution tax-deductible. For additional information on individual giving, please call Angela Kondon at 401-831-7440.

ADLC Members

Mr. David Abbott, Candy Adriance, Mr. and Mrs. Lucien D. Agniel, Jr., Ian L. Barnacle, Dr. David T. Barrall and Alison L. Holm, Esq., Ms. Larson T. Bennett, Mr. and Mrs. Oliver H. L. Bennett, Arria and Harrison Bilodeau, Ms. Laurel Bowerman, Captain and Mrs. Nicholas Brown, Mr. and Mrs. Vincent J. Buonanno, Mr. and Mrs. Richard I. Burnham, Mr. and Mrs. J. Scott Burns, Jane Chace Carroll, Buff Chace, Elizabeth Z. Chace, Johnnie Chace, Malcolm G. Chace, Jr., Dr. Joseph A. Chazan, Melanie and Stephen Coon, JP Couture, Warren C. Curtis and Mark Steinbach, Dr. Anne S. De Groot, James V. DeRentis and Brett Smiley, Timothy M. Empkie, M.D., Heather Evans and Peter Tirrell, Mrs. Constance F. Evrard, Mr. Barry W. Fain and Dr. Elaine Fain, Dr. and Mrs. Edwin G. Fischer, Florence Family Fund, Mrs. Mimi Freeman, Thomas E. and Leslie A. Gardner, Mr. and Mrs. Richard T. Gilbane, Ms. Roberta Groch, Warren and Janet Jagger, Ms. Jennifer E. Kiddie, Dr. Stewart Kiritz and Ms. Sally Schuman, Ms. Sally E. Lapides and Mr. Arthur Solomon, Mr. and Mrs. Eugene Lee, Mr. Ned Levine and Ms. Isabella R. Porter, Mr. and Mrs. Bruce C. Long, Cathy Lund and Peter Karczmar, Ms. Wendy MacGaw, Mr. Christopher J. Marsella, Mr. Frederick Mattis, Frank and Liz Mauran, Ms. Olivia B. McCullough and Mr. Jonathan Sharlin, Mrs. Houghton P. Metcalf, Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Terrence P. Moran, Sr., Mrs. Pamelee Murphy, Mr. Erik Anders Nelson and Mrs. Sanaa Nelson, Eliot Chace Nolen, Mr. Charles O’Boyle and Mr. Richard Rambuss, Mr. Charles H. Page, Rebecca and Barry Preston, Mr. and Mrs. William H. Reeves, IV, Edmund and Susan Restivo, Russell and Carla Ricci, Dawn and James Robertson, Brent Runyon, Clarkson Schoettle, Mr. Colgate Searle, Jr., Lucie G. Searle, Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan W. Seely, Peggy and Henry Sharpe Fund, Deming and Jane Sherman, Mrs. Jillian Siqueland, Barbara Sokoloff and Herbert Rakatansky, Dr. and Mrs. E. Paul Sorensen, Soutter Family Fund, Mr. and Mrs. Michael Sweeney, Maureen Taylor and Dexter L. Strong, Virginia and Tony Thomas, Ms. Melissa Trapp and Mr. Frank DeAngelis, Mr. and Mrs. Mark Van Noppen, Victoria Veh, Ms. Martha L. Werenfels and Mr. Franklin B. Satterthwaite, Jr., Wm McKenzie Woodward and Joseph J. Handly, Mr. Stewart Yang and Mrs. Marlene Yang, Mr. Todd Zimmerman and Ms. Laurie Volk

(as of 11/08/2021)

About Antoinette Downing

Antoinette Forrester Downing was born in Illinois in 1904, and moved to Providence with her husband George Downing in the 1930s. Considered an expert on RI architecture because of her work on the 1937 book “Early Homes of Rhode Island,” Antoinette was vocal in her concern about the threat to Providence architecture posed by the expansion of Brown and RISD in the 1950s. John Nicholas Brown shared her concerns, and together with Elizabeth Allen and Beatrice Chace, they co-founded PPS in 1956. She was instrumental in the production of the College Hill Study in concert with the City Plan Commission and PPS. She also served as the founding chairwoman of the RI Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission and chairwoman of the Providence Historic District Commission, and helped to establish Stop Wasting Abandoned Property. The National Trust for Historic Preservation honored her work by establishing the Antoinette F. Downing Fund in 1983, as well as awarding her the Louise du Pont Crowninshield Award in 1987. Antoinette Downing passed away in 2001 at age 96.