Historic Homes Saved in Reworked College Hill Building Plan

Curtains rise on Washington Street tonight for a homegrown world premiere, while crisp early autumn air settles across the neighborhoods. Keep a light layer close at hand before heading out.

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The Lead

Brown University significantly overhauled its proposal for a new economics building on College Hill this week, responding directly to months of neighborhood pushback. The revised blueprint shifts the construction footprint south to the corner of Brook and Charlesfield streets, moving away from residential abutter properties along Benevolent Street. More crucially for local preservationists, the updated design leaves intact two historic 1886 multi-family homes constructed by pioneering 19th-century African-American builder Alexander Gorham. Campus planners have also trimmed the facility's proposed height from 75 feet down to 60 feet, bringing the massing in line with surrounding institutional halls. The shift carves out room for an interior block greenspace rather than demolishing residential fabric. University officials will hold a series of neighborhood forums with residents over the coming weeks before formally submitting their Institutional Master Plan amendment to the City Plan Commission.

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Local Pulse

• Planners Review Six-Story Olneyville Apartment Proposal Housing The city considered plans for 28 mixed-income residences and sixth-floor commercial space on Dike Street.

• Community Replaces Damaged Saxophone for Street Musician Community Neighbors and local officers banded together to buy new gear for a cherished downtown busker.

• Nighttime Lane Restrictions Slow Interstate 195 Westbound Roads Maintenance crews are closing two lanes between South Water Street and Interstate 95 until dawn.

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Today's Outlook

• High 76°F · Low 53°F — Overcast
  • A crisp start gives way to comfortable, gray skies—keep a sweater handy for tonight.

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What's On Around Town

Today

• Afro-Fusion Zumba Michael S. Van Leesten Memorial Pedestrian Bridge, 6:30–7:30 PM · Free High-energy outdoor movement set against sunset views over the river.

• Paint Your Pet Glass Art Paint & Vino (150 Main St), Pawtucket, 7:00–9:30 PM · $45 Guided evening painting workshop complete with two complimentary beverages.

• The Getaway Driver Trinity Repertory Company (201 Washington St), 7:30 PM · Paid World-premiere crime drama exploring the human cost of a 1970 heist.

Tomorrow

• WaterFire: Starts at Sunset Michael S. Van Leesten Memorial Pedestrian Bridge, 7:00–9:00 PM · Free
• Lavender Tide Painting Class Paint & Vino (150 Main St), Pawtucket, 7:00–9:30 PM · $45
• Broadway Rave Alchemy (171 Chestnut St), 9:00 PM · Paid

Friday

• PVDFest Opening Night Downtown Arts District, 5:00–10:00 PM · Free
• Food Truck Friday Roger Williams Park Zoo & Carousel Village (1000 Elmwood Ave), 5:00–8:00 PM · Free
• Salsa on the Bridge Michael S. Van Leesten Memorial Pedestrian Bridge, 5:00–9:00 PM · Free

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Spotlight & Story

• The Arcade Providence
  • Teams of oxen hauled twelve 13-ton granite monoliths five miles from Johnston to raise the country's first indoor shopping mall in 1828. Look closely at the porticos: Russell Warren designed the Weybosset flat parapet, while James Bucklin crowned Westminster with a pediment.

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Providence Daily Digest — compiled from local sources as of 6 AM. For breaking updates, follow your local newsrooms.

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