The Cranston Street Armory in Providence, Rhode Island, built in 1907, has been on the Providence Preservation Society's list of most endangered properties eight times, most recently in 2015, due to delays and lack of funding for renovations. The building, considered an important symbol of Providence's history and identity, requires at least $12 million in repairs but has only received about $2 million from the current governor for exterior work and planning studies. Despite some properties being removed from the endangered list after being saved, the armory and many others remain in limbo, neither fully repaired nor lost.

1. www.pbn.com | PROVIDENCE BUSINESS NEWS | JUNE 22-28, 2015 | 15
WHATPRICEPRESERVATION?
“poster child” for endangered proper-
ties, the “people’s castle,” built in 1907
and formally known as the Cranston
Street Armory, has been on the most-
endangered list eight times – most
recently, this year.
In January, the preservation society
put the armory back on the list after
then-Gov. Lincoln D. Chafee last year
canceled nearly $3 million in renova-
tions and called for a feasibility study
to determine whether and how to
repurpose it. The study is not for a
specific use but is open-ended, Wack-
row said.
“It’s not typical for a property to go
on and off the list for so many years,”
explained Wackrow. “Different studies
for proposed uses … have made it seem
like plans were forming, but then they
just didn’t move forward.”
Some of the uses that had been
considered were a movie studio and
a home for the R.I. State Archives, he
said. The fire marshal’s office has also
moved out, another reason it is on the
list, he added.
“It’s a symbol that defines a sense
of place in Providence,” Wackrow
said, referring to the armory’s value.
“There [are] a lot of activities and uses
that could take place within a building
like that; but it’s a question of what’s
sustainable.”
Under Gov. Gina M. Raimondo,
about $2 million this fiscal year is now
being spent on exterior repair work,
the study, windows and fencing – but
the property would need $12 million
in today’s dollars at a minimum to
preserve the exterior, and more if that
needed to be spread out over time, said
Nami Moghadam, associate director of
the R.I. Department of Administration.
Since the state acquired the armory
in 1998, it has spent $7.7 million on
repairs through 2014, Moghadam said.
Despite progress with some proper-
ties that are no longer on the list, like
the Dynamo House at South Street
Station, where development is being
pursued for a nursing school complex
for the University of Rhode Island and
‘[The Cranston Street Armory is] a symbol
that defines a sense of place in
Providence.’
PAUL WACKROW, Providence Preservation Society director of preservation services
Looking to leave limbo
Thirty-eight properties or districts that have been listed since 1994 on
the Most Endangered Properties list by the Providence Preservation
Society are neither saved nor lost. Each property/district includes year
built (if applicable) as well as most recent listing on the list. Some prop-
erties/districts are not specific enough to place on the map.
2015 MOST ENDANGERED PROPERTIES (1-10)
STILL ENDANGERED PROPERTIES (11-27)
STILL ENDANGERED HISTORICAL DISTRICTS AND PROPERTIES
33. 19th Century Mill Buildings
34. Downtown Providence National Register District
35. Providence’s National Register Districts, listed 2003
36. Neighborhood Commercial District: Olneyville Sq., North Hope St.,
Wayland Sq., Broadway,Westminster St., Broad Street & Elmwood Ave.
37. Foreclosed multifamily housing stock, Citywide
38. Two and three-story porches, 84-239 Oakland Ave.
ENDANGERED PROPERTIES NOT SHOWN (33-38)
11. Bomes Theatre (1921), listed 2014
12. United Presbyterian Church (1895),
listed 2014
13. Industrial Trust Building (1928),
listed 2014
14. Ward Baking Comp. Admin. Bldg.
listed 2014
15. The Benjamin Dyer Block(1820),
listed 2011
16. Asa Messer Elementary School (1892),
listed 2011
17. Vartan Gregorian School (1954),
listed 2011
18. Rhode Island Hospital
Southwest Pavilion (1900), listed 2010
19. Castle Theatre (1925), listed 2009
20. General Ambrose Burnside House (1925),
listed 2009
21. What Cheer Mutual Fire Insurance Co.
United Way Building (1948-1949),
listed 2009
22. George J. West Elementary School
(1916), listed 2007
23. Mt. Pleasant High School (1938),
listed 2007
24. Willard B. Scott House (1854), listed 2001
25. Trinity United Methodist Church (1864),
listed 1995
26. William Dyer House (1844), listed 1995
27. Wanskuck Mill Housing (1850), listed 1994
1. Atlantic Mills (1863)
2. Broad Street Synagogue (1910)
3. Cranston Street Amory (1907)
4. Grace Church Cemetery
& Cottage (1834)
5. Esek Hopkins House (1756)
6. Former RIDOT Headquarters
& Garage (1927)
7. Sheffield Smith House (1855)
8. St.Teresa of Avila Church (1883)
9. Kendrick-Prentice-Tirocchi House (1867)
10. Westminster Congregational Church(1901)
28. Smith Hill bounded generally, by
Brownell, Hayes, Jewett, Smith &
West Park Streets
29. Doyle Avenue, bounded by
Camp Street, Doyle Avenue,
N. Main Street & Proctor Place
30. Rhodes Street National Register both
sides of Rhodes Street west of
Eddy Street, also adjacent properties
on Alphonso & Janes Street
31. State House Lawn,
Capital Center (1901),
listed 2014
32. North Burial Bround,
800 North Main Street
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