List of tallest buildings in Providence, Rhode Island

The skyline of Providence, as seen from the city's College Hill neighborhood

Providence, the capital of the U.S. state of Rhode Island and the third-largest city in New England, is home to 30 high-rises,^[1] 17 of which stand at least 175 feet (53 m) in height. The tallest skyscraper in the city is the Bank of America Building, which rises 26 floors and 428 feet (130 m) in Downtown Providence.^[2] The Bank of America Building, nicknamed the "Superman Building" due to its resemblance to the fictional Daily Planet building from the 1950s TV series, Adventures of Superman,^[2] is also the tallest building in Rhode Island and the sixth-tallest building in New England outside of Boston.^[3] The second-tallest building in Providence is One Financial Plaza, which rises 30 floors and 410 feet (125 m) and was completed in 1973.^[4]

As one of the early manufacturing centers in the United States, many of Providence's tallest buildings were constructed prior to 1930, including the Bank of America Building and the Turk's Head Building, one of the city's earliest high-rises. The city went through a second building boom in the 1970s, during which time One Financial Plaza and Textron Tower, the city's fifth-tallest building, were completed. In the 1990s and 2000s, due to what has been dubbed the Providence "Renaissance",^[5] the city was the site of several notable high-rise construction projects; as of August 2012, there are still nine active high-rise proposals or construction projects taking place in the city.^[1] For the most part, the new projects have consisted of condominium and hotel developments, including The Residences at the Westin and the Waterplace towers.

Tallest buildings

This lists ranks Providence high-rises that stand at least 175 feet (53 m) tall, based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. An equal sign (=) following a rank indicates the same height between two or more buildings. The "Year" column indicates the year in which a building was completed.

Rank	Name	Image	Height ft (m)	Floors	Year	Coordinates	Notes
1	111 Westminster		428 (130)	26	1927	41°49′28.27″N 71°24′39.89″W / 41.8245194°N 71.4110806°W	Has been the tallest building in the city and the state for over 80 years Built as the Industrial Trust Tower Now is vacant Previously known as Bank of America Building, also Fleet Bank Tower[2][6]
2	One Financial Plaza		405 (125)	30	1973	41°49′31.11″N 71°24′36.14″W / 41.8253083°N 71.4100389°W	Built as the Hospital Trust Tower Also known as Sovereign Bank Tower[4][7]
3	The Residences Providence		365 (111)	31	2007	41°49′30.32″N 71°24′54.77″W / 41.8250889°N 71.4152139°W	[8][9][10]
4	Omni Providence Hotel		299 (100)	25	1993	41°49′31.15″N 71°24′58.5″W / 41.8253194°N 71.416250°W	Became the tallest hotel in Providence upon its completion, surpassing the Providence Biltmore[11][12]
5	Textron Tower		295 (95)	23	1972	41°49′29.63″N 71°24′33.05″W / 41.8248972°N 71.4091806°W	Built as Old Stone Tower[13][14]
6	50 Kennedy Plaza		269 (87)	20	1985	41°49′29.8″N 71°24′38.09″W / 41.824944°N 71.4105806°W	[15][16]
7	Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island Headquarters		237 (72)	14	2009	41°49′40.31″N 71°24′47.98″W / 41.8278639°N 71.4133278°W	[17][18]
8	Waterplace 1		236 (72)	19	2008	41°49′38.36″N 71°24′45.91″W / 41.8273222°N 71.4127528°W	Tallest all-residential building in the city[19]
9	Rhode Island State House		223 (68)	4	1904	41°49′51.08″N 71°24′53.87″W / 41.8308556°N 71.4149639°W	[20][21]
10	Biltmore Hotel		220 (67)	18	1922	41°49′27.73″N 71°24′48.4″W / 41.8243694°N 71.413444°W	Tallest hotel in the city from 1922 until the completion of the Westin Providence in 1993[22]^[A]
11	Providence County Courthouse		216 (66)	7	1930	41°49′31.76″N 71°24′24.84″W / 41.8254889°N 71.4069000°W	[22][23]
12	Turk's Head Building		215 (66)	16	1913	41°49′28.42″N 71°24′35.5″W / 41.8245611°N 71.409861°W	[22][24]
13	Waterplace 2		210 (64)	17	2008	41°49′38.22″N 71°24′48.05″W / 41.8272833°N 71.4133472°W	[25]
14=	One Citizens Plaza		180 (55)	13	1990	41°49′38.78″N 71°24′38.42″W / 41.8274389°N 71.4106722°W	[26]
14=	Brown University Sciences Library		180 (55)	15	1971	41°49′36.85″N 71°24′0.49″W / 41.8269028°N 71.4001361°W	With its former antenna mast included, the building reached a total height of 395 feet (120 m), more than doubling its effective height and making it the third-tallest building in the city when measuring by pinnacle height.[27]
16	Hospital Trust Building		178 (54)	13	1920	41°49′32.38″N 71°24′34.83″W / 41.8256611°N 71.4096750°W	Also known as the Fleet Building[28]
17	Sister Dominica Manor		175 (53)	16	1966	41°49′21.84″N 71°25′16.69″W / 41.8227333°N 71.4213028°W	Built as the Bradford House Also known as Federal Hill Manor[29]

Timeline of tallest buildings

This lists buildings that once held the title of tallest building in Providence.

Name	Image	Street address	Years as tallest	Height ft (m)	Floors	Coordinates	Reference
Rhode Island State House		82 Smith Street	1904–1927	223 (68)	4	41°49′51.08″N 71°24′53.87″W / 41.8308556°N 71.4149639°W	[21]
Bank of America Building		55 Exchange Place	1927–present	428 (130)	26	41°49′28.27″N 71°24′39.89″W / 41.8245194°N 71.4110806°W	[6]

Notes

A. ^{^} The Biltmore Hotel is ranked including the height of the prominent "BILTMORE" sign on the top of the building. Such signs are often included in architectural heights, which is what this particular list ranks. However, some references do not include the sign in the total height of the building. Without the sign, the Biltmore stands at 205 feet (62 m), making it the 13th-tallest in Providence rather than the 10th-tallest.

References

General

• "Buildings of Providence". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2012-08-21.

Specific

1. "About: Providence". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
2. "Bank of America Building". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
3. "Diagram of New England Skyscrapers". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
4. "One Financial Plaza". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
5. Leazes; et al. (2004). Providence, The Renaissance City. Northeastern University Press. ISBN 1-55553-604-2.
6. "Bank of America Building". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
7. "One Financial Plaza". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
8. "The Residences at the Westin". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
9. "Current Development Projects: Residences at the Westin". The Procaccianti Group. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
10. "Westin Hotel East". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
11. "The Westin Providence". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
12. "Westin Hotel". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
13. "Textron Tower". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
14. "Textron Tower". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
15. "50 Kennedy Plaza". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
16. "50 Kennedy Plaza". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
17. "Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island Headquarters Building". Emporis.com. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
18. Barbarisi, Daniel. "Blue Cross unveils its plan to build new headquarters". Providence Journal. Retrieved 2007-04-19.
19. "Waterplace 1". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
20. "The Dome". Rhode Island Facts and Figures. Archived from the original on 2007-02-23. Retrieved 2007-08-01.
21. "Rhode Island State House". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
22. Woodward, William McKenzie (2003). Guide to Providence Architecture. EA Johnson Co. Printers. pp. 81–157. ISBN 0-9742847-0-X.
23. "Providence County Courthouse". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
24. "Turk's Head Building". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
25. "Waterplace 2". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
26. "1 Citizens Plaza". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
27. "Sciences Library". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
28. "Hospital Trust Building". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2012-08-21.
29. "Federal Hill Manor". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved 2012-08-21.

External links

• Diagram of Providence skyscrapers on SkyscraperPage
• Providence structures on Structurae