Photographer/Creator

Chet Smolski

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Description

Home to the Davol Rubber Co. from 1884 until 1977, the complex were rehabilitated and reopened for mixed retail and office use in 1982. However, despite high occupancy and easy highway access, the shops slowly disappeared and the mall closed down in 1991. Davol Square was Providence’s first attempt of converting factory space into retail/office use based on the model of San Francisco’s Ghirardelli Square (1962) and was meant to rival Boston’s Quincy Marketplace/Faneuil Hall which opened in the late 1970s. According to Jordy, the most original aspect of the complex is the overhead glazing of an alley between three- and four-story buildings which had created the core shopping arcade. Since the 1990s, the buildings have reverted as a permanent display center for the wholesale jewelry trade and is therefore closed to the public.

Notes

Woodward, PPS/AlAri Guide to Providence Architecture (Providence, 2003), 123-4; Jordy, Buildings of Rhode Island (Oxford, 2004), 59; A detailed description of the commercial usage of the space here: Kevin Warren, “Davol Square Marketplace: Providence, RI”, DeadMalls.com (Jan. 8, 2006), http://www.deadmalls.com/malls/davol_square_marketplace.html

Creator 1 Role

Photographer

Building Type

Mall

Building Style

Industrial vernacular

Themes

Malls

Subject Headings

Urban renewal -- Rhode Island -- Providence; Mixed-use developments -- Rhode Island -- Providence; Factories -- Remodeling for other use -- Rhode Island -- Providence; Shopping malls -- Rhode Island -- Providence; Davol Square (Providence, R.I.)

Country Name

United States of America

Region Name

Rhode Island

City Name

Providence

Street Address

419 Eddy Street & 69 Point St.

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Keywords

Davol Square, shopping malls, downtown revitalization, factories, urban redevelopment, economic development, business growth, business development

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