PANEL 10
A perspective of Williams, John, and Arnold Streets at their intersection with Brook Street, with a plan of the streets superimposed in the lower left. Historic structures are shown rehabilitated, with new infill and open greenspace evident. St. Joseph Church can be seen on Arnold Street in the distance.
COLLETTE CREPPEL
"Much has been written about the International Style as it swept Europe and then was brought to the United States in the post-war and mid-century period. More often than not, mid-century modernist architectural renderings appear to rise out of a tabula rasa.
What is striking still today about William Warner’s urban architectural vision and Margie Olson’s arresting renderings for College Hill is the careful relationship they suggest between the architecture and the context: soaring modernist towers rise from, and modernist housing blocks are embedded in, a clearly depicted historic neighborhood context.
In these renderings, the historical and the visionary are admiring neighbors. Students of architecture and urbanism must admire and, in our turn, now nearly sixty years later, draw upon the inviting lessons of these optimistic and energetic images. The kites in Panel 10 symbolize this soaring optimism."
DAVID BRUSSAT
"Panel 10 represents further evidence of the usefulness of street names to identify locations obscured by the extent of proposed changes in areas otherwise well known to a public being informed of the survey recommendations for the first time. What is that yellow plane suspended above the ground, apparently next to John Street? Is that another one next to Arnold Street? This area, near where I used to live on Benefit, was indeed later subject to awkward infill housing, though it is of poor traditionally styled housing rather than modernist styles.
My comment on this panel would merely restate my comment for Panel 9."
C. MORGAN GREFE
"To be sure, greenspace is vital to any city, and when the College Hill Plan was being put together, there was a national push for an expansion of greenspace and public access to it that is still to be applauded. With that being said, the thought of success meaning the removal of wonderful, needed, historic homes was not the right solution through my historian’s lens. And, luckily, did not come to pass.
Part of the power of College Hill, and particularly of the area around Williams, Arnold, and John Streets, is the sheer density of wonderful, historic homes in a variety of sizes. Sometimes it is enough to save representative structures (though all too often institutions seem to forget preservation promises like this), but in other instances, it takes a neighborhood—at least a few blocks—to truly capture that mood or aura that communicates to anyone on that street that you are in A PLACE right now. You are surrounded by stories and awash in memories.
One building can’t do that and losing so many, as was proposed in Panel 10, would alter our ability to feel the proximity in which people lived. It would be for us to pretend that we are in a suburb, when this is a city—and should be proud to be so. This is a place to walk. This is a place to see and know your neighbors. This is a place of front steps that end on sidewalks and dinner smells mingle in the middle of streets.
You want to fly a kite, then no, this might not be the street for you. But Providence has places for that, too. We don’t always need to sacrifice one to have the other. But we do need to find ways to make sure that everyone can access both."
BRIAN GROSS
"What I love most about this panel are the kites. As a communications professional, I always strive to have one element that pulls you in. By having the kites so large and prominent in the illustration, Warner is making you understand the importance of green space in a city. There is also an air of whimsy to them with the addition of bright colors to what is otherwise a relatively serious design."
MARISA ANGELL BROWN
"Panel 10 is a perspective showing the proposed demolition of historic homes on John and Arnold Streets (left to right) between Thayer and Brook Streets (bottom to top), taking out the charming Brassil Park playground currently located on the corner of Arnold and Brook as well. The topmost proposed line-up of housing, running along Brook Street, is located where Legend Bicycle is today. Visible at top right is Saint Joseph’s Church.
The plan at left is more illuminating than the perspective drawing, as the latter makes what is actually envisioned as open recreational space in the middle appear to be flat-roofed buildings, so to get a sense of what Warner was proposing, it is better here to study the plan. What the plan shows is, mainly, open space: the new baseball field on the corner of Brook and John Streets, the open lawn and gardens at middle and even the setbacks of proposed new medium-density housing fronting John, Brook and Arnold Streets would have introduced more greenery and a sense of spaciousness into the heart of this neighborhood.
In many renderings of this era, it’s always important to be aware of the use of shadowing to indicate both literal darkness (perceived to be a significant public health threat in this era) and moral or cultural dubiousness. In the perspective, note the places in which dark shadows wash over the existing buildings in contrast to Warner’s proposed structures and spaces."