R.I. State House plays Providence City Hall in 2007 film “Underdog.” Editor’s note: This is the final segment of the epilogue of my book, Lost Providence, entitled “Providence Lost, Providence Regained.” Published in 2017, the book is a history of the design of the modern-day capital of Rhode Island, specifically of its downtown. So why is this reprinted segment illustrated by the Rhode Island…

The Needles of the Southern Sierra

Sidewalk on Benefit Street, in Providence. (photo by Robin Williams during 2016 visit)

One of many fascinating narratives in Seven Ages of Pariswas author Alistair Horne’s frequent return to the subject of how Paris’s streets evolved from muddy lanes awash in human waste to paved streets with gutters down the middle to guide sewage toward the nearest river. Eventually, sewers were put underground…

And the race is on!

Part of the historic district of Charleston, S.C. (HarbourView Inn)

Providence. Friday, February 10. 7:45 a.m.

This is completely absurdist concept for a blog post, but my cab to Green Airport, outside of Providence, will (I hope) pick me up in 45 minutes. So here, to be brief, are images for several proposed buildings in Providence and Charleston, my destination today. Readers play by guessing…

Alexander’s classical tent

A traditional Batak house, Sumatra, Indonesia. (wikipedia)

Christopher Alexander – well known for his Pattern Language, his four-volume The Nature of Order, and for his research on the natural creation of form in architecture and digital technology – wrote an excellent open letterto members of the TradArch list in 2002. It urged those interested in promoting a classical revival to broaden the…

Proposed design for International Museum of African American History, in Charleston.

Obelisk of Axum, Ethiopia, 4th Century.

“A Bakongo Cosdmogram Compass”

“Tree of Transformation”

“Gathering for the Journey”

“The Indomitable Spirit Passage”

“That Which Does Not Burn”

“Shipwreck”

“Bridge of Progress”

“Gateway to Community”

“A Tree of Light & A Hush Harbor”

A newly proposed memorial, called the…

Title: Justice Falling, Falling Series Book 3 Author: Audrey Carlan Genre: Adult Contemporary Romance (Erotic) Sweet and naïve in the ways of the world, Camille “Cami” Johnston has done whatever it takes to survive in New York City. Unbroken by her tumultuous past, she is pursuing a stable and secure future that doesn’t include worrying about where the rent money will come from. Little…

Age Level: 2 and up

The Breakdancing Panda is a fun picture book featuring more than 30 pages of simplistic artwork that's sure to get your kids dancing all over the house. The break dancing panda has a problem and needs your help! He can't remember which moves are breakdancing and which ones aren't! Let him perform some dances and you tell him whether or not it's breakdancing!