Monthly Around The Block E-News

The Statewide Advocate for Historic Places

Around the Block E-News

1772 Grant Site Visits Underway Across Rhode Island

Each winter, Preserve RI staff travel across the state to conduct site visits with applicants for the 1772 Grant Program. Site visits are particularly important in evaluating grant proposals, as they allow our staff to better understand applicants’ needs, assess the structures included in the application, and ensure plans are aligned to preservation standards.

Run in cooperation with the 1772 Foundation, this program is open to non-profit organizations who own historic structures that need capital improvements. With the ever-rising cost of construction materials, this vital program has become more important than ever in preserving our state’s historic resources. Since launching the program in 2020, Preserve RI has helped distribute more than $725,000 in preservation funding across Rhode Island. Awardees of grants this year will be announced in May. To learn more about the program, and see who was awarded in 2025, click the button below.

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Preserve RI Submits Comment on the Proposed White House Ballroom

The proposed ballroom addition.

The sudden destruction of the East Wing of the White House and plans to replace it with a vast ballroom have been the center of controversy since October. Preserve RI and preservation organizations across the country worry that the Administration’s disregard of standing procedures for building new construction in architecturally sensitive areas will set a bad precedent.

Following a lawsuit filed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in December of 2025, the Administration submitted plans to the National Capital Planning Commission. As required by law, the Commission then declared a period for public comment. Preserve RI, other organizations, and individuals took advantage of the opportunity to submit comments during the open period which ended on March 4th. The NCPC will next meet on April 2nd. Updates to follow.

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Join Us for Walking Tours That Celebrate our Nation’s Semiquincentennial

Explore the North Burial Ground in Providence

On Saturday, April 11, join Lippitt House Museum staff for an exploration of the city’s oldest municipal cemetery, the North Burial Ground. On this 75-minute walk through a historic landscape, you’ll learn about the people and issues that inspired, worried, and sometimes divided the Lippitt family and their contemporaries. Along the way, you’ll encounter activists, craftsmen, physicians, and notable figures such as Civil War soldier Munro Gladding, suffragist Annie Peck, and Freelove Ball, the woman who became the rallying cry for the Rhode Island temperance movement.

With Providence’s Cemetery Director Annalisa Heppner (a Trustee of Preserve RI) and Lippitt House Museum Director Cathy Saunders as your guides, you will examine the craftsmanship of Rhode Island monument makers and explore the range of ways that people commemorate their loved ones. Discover memorials that have endured the passage of time and learn what it takes to preserve them.

Saturday April 11th at 1:00 PM. The meeting location and check-in instructions will be sent after booking.

Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for SNAP EBT Cardholders (Museums for All)

Learn About the Jeremiah Dexter House in Providence

Preserve Rhode Island and Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park will be hosting a guided walk in Providence, on Saturday, May 9, 2026. We will be meeting at the Jeremiah Dexter House on North Main Street at 10 a.m. (free street parking is located nearby).

This rare look into Dexter House will discuss the Franco-American alliance during the War for Independence. Participants will explore a witness house from the American Revolution and walk up Camp Street to see a monument to French soldiers.

Dexter Farm served as a campsite for French General Rochambeau and his troops during the American Revolution. After helping George Washington defeat the British at Yorktown, General Rochambeau encamped his troops at Dexter Farm for three weeks while awaiting ships to transport them back to France. “Rochambeau” Avenue and “Camp” Street commemorate this historical event. Dexter House currently serves as Preserve RI’s headquarters and is generally not open to the public.

This walk is free and open to all. No registration is required.

Presented in partnership with the Washington-Rochambeau National Historic Trail.

People in Preservation: David Corsetti

Owner, Premier Land Development

Preserve RI is excited to welcome five new members to our Board of Trustees. This is the final profile, to read about our other new trustees, click here.

David Corsetti, as CEO of Premier Land Development, continues to shape the rehabilitation of mill buildings across the state. His company specializes in pioneering distinct residential, mixed-use, commercial and industrial projects, including both new construction and adaptive reuse. Among the notable projects he has worked on are the 2024 Rhody Award winning project, Wanskuck Mill, in Providence and the Ann and Hope Mill in Cumberland which is currently being developed. David joined Preserve Rhode Island’s Board of Trustees in January of 2026.

How did you first become interested in historic preservation?

I purchased the historic Henry A. Kirby House in the late 90’s, which required a significant amount of restoration. At that time, being young and inexperienced, I underestimated the amount of work and capital it would take to restore. Nonetheless, after 4 years of painstaking renovation the work was completed, and the project was awarded the 2002 PPS Residential Rehab/Restoration Award. Through this process I gained a sense of admiration as well as appreciation for what these historic properties represent.

You converted the Wanskuck Mill in Providence into housing units and commercial space, for which you won a Rhody Award, and are now developing the Ann and Hope Mill in Cumberland into housing. How can these mill conversions help the state address its housing crisis?

Mill buildings are generally larger in size due to their previous industrial use, which allows developers the opportunity to convert large building areas into high unit-count for multi-family use. In many ways, the existing structures allow for a quick turnaround with respect to the approval process, clearing the way for developers to deliver a mid-range product that in most cases lend themselves to market-rate rentals. By contrast, mill renovations usually run 20–30% less than ground up or high-rise restoration housing. In my understanding, the only way to make the market more affordable is with more available product – supply and demand is the main driver behind affordability.