Description

The former Grove Street Elementary School occupies a large plot of land in the middle of a residential neighborhood. The area is lower-class, the streets lined with rows of triple-decker houses . The school is in an obvious state of disrepair and abandonment. It is a two-storey, T-shaped, brick building standing on a granite foundation. The building features brick quoins on the corners and modillion blocks at the cornices . The entrances are composed of recessed, arched openings in the wings flanking the central block. There are two entrances because at the time of construction, boys and girls entered the school separately. The arches feature brick corbelling and keystones. All the windows have been boarded up; they were once either rectangular or round-arch openings with granite sills. The plot of land is surrounded by a small parking lot . There seem to have been no significant changes to the size and the structure of the school since it was built.

History

The Grove Street Elementary School was originally built to be a public grammar school at the start of the 20th century. It was a time of mass immigration, and the school attempted to accommodate the children of the area. The school has been vacant since the 1980s and is now owned by the Tarros family. They want to demolish the building and construct a parking lot in its place. Residents of the area would like to have it transformed into something beneficial for the neighborhood. However, the school has been included in the Industrial and Commercial Buildings District (ICBD) and twice nominated to the Providence Preservation Society's Ten Most Endangered List. Before any action may be taken, the proposal must be considered by the Historic District Commission.

Sources

Providence Journal.

Providence Preservation Society. Providence Industrial Sites and Commercial Building Survey, Final Reports 2001-2002 .

Art In Ruins website. < http://artinruins.com/arch/decay/groveschool/index.php >