Step Inside the Cranston Street Armory!
Join us for a walk inside the Cranston Street Armory on Monday, May 4 at 9am and hear about the Armory’s history, from the early 1900s when it was constructed through 2023, when contracted redevelopment plans were cancelled by the state. Visitors will have an opportunity to walk the central drill hall and step inside many of the offices that look out on Dexter Field.
The Cranston Street Armory was originally built in 1907 to house the Rhode Island National Guard. Designed by the local architecture firm William R. Walker & Son, it earned the nickname “the people’s castle” due to its twin six-story towers. From 1909 to 1981, the building was known as the Providence Civic Center and hosted a wide variety of events, including track meets, basketball games, boxing matches, circuses, auto shows, inaugural balls, and political rallies.
When the Civic Center closed due to structural problems, Rhode Island’s National Guard moved back into the building and then permanently moved out in 1996.
For three decades, the West Broadway Neighborhood Association and Providence Preservation Society have been vocal champions of the Armory’s revitalization as a historically significant building with potential to serve as a vibrant community hub and driver of economic and cultural life. Join us on May 4 to get reacquainted with this unique gem. We thank the Department of Administration and the Department of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance for opening it up for this tour.
Monday, May 4 // 9 – 10:30am
Street Address: 310 Cranston Street, Providence.
Please enter the parking lot from Parade Street. We will gather and enter the building from the parking lot. Please be aware that after the tour starts, doors to the Armory will close at 9:15am as state staff must accompany the group and cannot remain at the door to open it for late-comers. Ample parking is available in the Armory’s lot and along Parade Street. Please wear sturdy shoes and be prepared for uneven floors and use of a staircase to access the towers and basement level.
Tickets are free with a suggested donation of $25 (or more!)
All donations support WBNA and PPS’s advocacy efforts to save and repurpose the Armory.
This program is organized in collaboration with Providence Preservation Society and is preceded by a program on Sunday, May 3 at 4pm presenting the work of Scout Urban LLC, the design-development firm that was contracted to rehabilitate the Armory in 2022.
