Monthly Around The Block e-News

THE STATEWIDE ADVOCATE FOR HISTORIC PLACES

Around the Block e-News

Preserve RI Property Update:

Seeking Proposals for the Phillip Walker Property

in East Providence

Walker House is located at the corner of North Broadway & Massasoit Ave in the Rumford section of East Providence.

The ca. 1724 Phillip Walker House, and its surrounding field were donated to Preserve RI in 1983. The house is one of the oldest and most significant buildings in East Providence. Originally used by Preserve RI as a study house for students of historic preservation and later as Preserve RI Property Manager living quarters, most recently it has been rented to live-in curators who tackled window restoration and exterior painting.

For some time, Preserve RI has been brainstorm ing ideas for the future of the property. Recently we learned of Fowler Clark Epstein Farm, a property owned by Historic Boston Incorporated (HBI) that was rehabilitated as the headquarters and education center for the Urban Farming Institute. A site visit last year inspired us to consider Walker House as a possible location for a live-in urban farmer. Working with a team of Preserve RI trustees, the Southside Community Land Trust and East Providence Planning Department, Preserve RI staff developed and released an RFP for farmers this month. We're hoping this could lead to a productive new use for the house and land. Stay tuned for updates!

Preservation Helps Drive Economic Recovery

Preserve RI has joined with preservation groups from around the country to ask Congress to ensure that historic preservation plays a role as the nation plans for economic recovery. Among the calls to action are:

*Extend the Paycheck Protection Program to support small businesses, the heart and soul of historic main streets across America.

*Expand eligibility and make Federal Historic Tax Credits easier to use. Proposals include increasing the access to the program for smaller projects and seeking an increase in the credit percentage for all projects.

*Supplement the Historic Preservation Fund including $75 Million for bricks-and-mortar grants as well additional funding for Save America’s Treasure program.

2019 Rhody Award Winner, Lofts at Lyman Mill in North Providence.

Other recommendations include enhancing charitable giving incentives and increasing funding for both the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities .

In Rhode Island we know how vital historic preservation is to economic development. Help us make sure our RI Congressmen and Senators understand the importance of investing in historic places and catalyzing economic recovery. Urge them to act now!

Lewis Tower House in Cumberland Gains Designated-Landmark Protection

Approval for the subdivision of the lot containing the Lewis Tower House and designation of the house as a single building local historic district has secured one of Cumberland’s most unique historic resources. Built on Mendon Road around 1825, it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places for its architectural significance and well-preserved, unusual still intact form. Unlike most other Federal-style rural domestic structures, the house sits on a sloping terraced lot with a grade-level basement and character-defining veranda that extends along two sides. Preserve RI has been providing advice and advocating for a preservation-friendly decision as part of our Community Preservation Response (CPR) program when the building was threatened with demolition.

This creative solution by the Town of Cumberland Planning Board allows the current lot to be subdivided into two separate lots and places the Lewis Tower House in a Landmark Buildings Historic District of its own, effectively protecting it from demolition. The home has been vacant for a decade and major setbacks to renovation attempts made demolition an ever more likely option. With this designation, future owners now have the opportunity to build a new structure on one lot while working to preserve the historic home on the other.

Love in the Time of COVID-19

Our friends at Doors Open RI have come up with an ingenious way share our love of favorite places in Rhode Island. A collective mapping project, Rhody Love Notes connects people to treasured places and spaces throughout the state. By inviting the public to write, share, and explore notes about places they love, Rhody Love Notes seeks to inspire new perspectives on our state and foster belonging, curiosity and local pride. Go to Rhody Love Notes and share your love of a place on your daily walk... or one you are longing to see again.

Here’s one of our favorites

As you can imagine, Preserve RI has many loves, but one of our favorites is Sachuest Point on Aquidneck Island . For centuries artists painted masterpieces in this timeless landscape. Then came the telephone wires.

In 2017, Preserve RI partnered with the Preservation Society of Newport County and Aquidneck Land Trust to restore one of Rhode Island’s most beautiful inspiring sites by pulling out the telephone poles and burying utility lines from Second Beach to the Sachuest Point National Wildlife Refuge.

Before - Sachuest Point telephone poles.

After - Sachuest Point with natural beauty restored.

Membership Matters

Show that you value the role historic preservation plays in the life of our communities and the state’s economy: become a Preserve RI member today!

You’ll be supporting the efforts of the only statewide advocate for preserving our state’s great old places. Preservation is vital to understanding the past and guiding future generations. All around Rhode Island you can see how restoring the treasures of our past strengthens local communities and their economies, creates jobs, is environmentally friendly and brings people together.

As a Preserve RI member, you can help ensure that our unique communities and historic places have a vibrant future.

Join Today!

2020 Rhody Awards Nominations Close in 2 Days!

Do you know of an outstanding preservation project completed after January 1, 2019?

We want to hear about it from you!

Submissions accepted until 5:00 PM Friday 5/22/20 . That’s just two days left to give a great project the kind of recognition it deserves - don't delay!

2019 Rhody Award Winner, Restmere in Middletown

New! Online Nomination Form

Suffrage in Rhode Island: A Lippitt Family Perspective

Preserve RI's Lippitt House Museum and Brown University’s John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities and Cultural Heritage are partners on a project that examines suffrage expansion in Rhode Island and connections to the Lippitt family.

Travel an interactive timeline developed by students featuring key events in both Rhode Island and United States suffrage history. Explore original memes, cleverly captioned photos, that discuss both historical and contemporary voting equity issues by visiting the Museum's 19th Amendment Commemoration website .