United Electric Railways Company Car Barn, Broad Street Station

About this Property

#Last Tenant

It is difficult to tell if the remaining portion of the building is being used and who it is being used by. The address has shifted with each demolition as well. In the 1950s, the western portion of the building along Broad street was demolished, so a portion of its address moved to 355 Thurbers. In late 2022, the remaining western half of the building was razed leaving only the 545 Prairie Avenue portion remaining. We could not find any reason why the western portion was demolished recently or what the remaining portion will be used for.

Architecture

According to maps and photos, the original building stretched the entire block from Broad to Prairie with a row of wood-frame dwellings along Colfax Street to the north. The northwestern side of the building is set on a angle to follow the angle of Broad Street as it eventually meets Prairie to the south. The southwestern corner is where a three story clock tower was located. Along the southern wall of the building are two-story offices, storage for sand and salt, an oil room, and repair shops.

The bulk of the building is a double-height open space. Doors large enough to fit trolley cars were located all along the western wall and additional doors were on the eastern wall as well. A decorative brick corbelling along the roofline is the primary decorative element. The pier and spandrel construction is typical of industrial buildings at the turn of the 20th century.

#History

From the “Industrial Sites and Commercial Buildings Survey (ICBS)” by PPS and RIHPHC, 2001-2002

A one-story, flat-roof, rectangular, brick building on the west side of Prairie Avenue at its intersection with Thurbers Avenue. Multiple garage door openings on its Prairie Avenue elevation were built for the storage and servicing of trolley cars. The brick corbelling at the cornice and the pier-and-panel wall motif are the building’s primary ornamentation. Fenestration is comprised of segmental-arch openings with stone sills. Many openings have been partially bricked in and feature a combination of 6/6 sash and smaller, multi-light sash windows. The north elevation of the building is completely devoid of fenestration. A small, one-story, concrete block, parapet ell projects from the north elevation of the building.

The building was constructed ca. 1900 and appears on the 1908 map as the Union Railroad Company Car Barn. The original car barns for the South Providence horsecars were established on this site in 1865. The building erected at that time was identical to the extant Elmwood car barn on Bucklin Street and was designed by James Bucklin. The earlier building was replaced by the present structure after the electrification of the system in 1892 required larger and more modem facilities (South Providence, RIHPHC, 1978).

Modern signage identifies the building’s current occupants as OMNI Development, Coken Comp, and Urban Ventures.

From a RIHPHC report “Statewide Historical Preservation Report — South Providence,” 1978

546 Prairie Street — United Electric Railways Car Barn c. 1900. A 1-story, brick building with multiple, garage-door openings built for the storage and servicing of trolley cars. The brick corbelling at the cornice and the pier-and-panel wall motif are the building’s chief ornament. The original car barns for the South Providence horsecars were established on this Site in 1865. The building erected at that time was identical to the still extant Elmwood car barn on Bucklin Street 421-423 and was designed by James Bucklin. It was replaced by the present structure after the electrification of the system in 1892 required larger and more modern facilities.

Maps

• 1908 L.J. Richards Insurance Map, plate 20 (private collection) — The building is labeled “Union R.R. Co. Car Barn.”
• 1920 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, Volume 5, plate 39 (page 42) — Large building at the top of the map plate labeled “Rhode Island Company’s Street Railroad Car Barn Broad Street Station.” Building is in red denoting brick construction. Notation indicates “Capacity 240 cars,” “Wire glass skylights,” and “160,000 gal tank underground.”
• 1939 Providence Aerial Viewer — Aerial photo shows the same layout as the 1920 Sanborn Map, but with articulations on the roof presumably denoting the bays inside.
• 1920–1951 Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, Volume 5, plate 39 (page 43) — The building now appears to be split along an existing separation wall. To the west is marked “Vacant” while the east is labeled “Narragansett Electric Company Store Ho’s.” The northwestern corner of the block has expanded a wood-frame dwelling with brick storefronts that meet the street edge.
• 1951–52 Providence Aerial Viewer — Shortly after the 1951 map, the western portion of the building was demolished along Broad Street. The Trolley barn fell out of use previous to this, and the angular entrance and clock tower was removed first. The remaining portion of the building consists of two rectangular sections.
• 1972 Providence Aerial Viewer — More buildings on the northwestern corner have ben cleared. The northwestern corner of the remaining building has a one-story addition added to it. Two houses on the northeastern corner of the block have been razed and what looks to be outdoor storage has replaced them.
• 1997 Providence Aerial Viewer — Three more homes along the northern walls along Colfax Street have been razed for parking. The northwestern corner buildings have changed in appearance and structure. The remaining building continues to appear the same.
• 2008 Providence Aerial Viewer — The entire western portion of the block has changed and a CVS store has been erected on the lot. Only two houses along the southern side of Colfax Street remain.
• 2022 Providence Aerial Viewer — The western half of the remaining building is under demolition. It was split in two bays, one on the north and one of the south, and we can see into these bays from above.