Come to Providence and you’ll find an urban assemblage of unsurpassable architectural merit – at least in the States. It’s the only American city to have its entire downtown listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. The beaux-arts City Hall makes an imposing centerpiece to Kennedy Plaza, and the stately white dome of the Rhode Island State House remains visible from many corners of the city. The Arcade is modeled after Parisian antecedents. These impressive buildings, along with the art deco Industrial Trust building – note the third story friezes of industrial progress on the Westminster Street facade – are only a few of many showcase buildings. The more ordinary 19th-century brick structures that fill in the space between their more famously designed neighbors work together to create an extraordinary landscape of harmonious scale, beauty and craftsmanship.
