Shepard’s Department Store

Constructed: 1870s
PPS Ten Most: 1994
Building Type: Commercial
Trend:

In 1880, the Shepard Company Department Store opened in two floors of a small building at the corner of Westminster and Clemence Streets in downtown Providence. What was initially a small retail venture would by 1903 grow to be the largest department store in New England; in 1896 the company acquired an adjacent building and continued to expand until it occupied the entire block. The resulting structure was a 5- and 6-story building with a façade of brick, stone, terra cotta, stucco masonry and cast iron supporting members. The varied material mimicked the facades the previously existing buildings. Two-story, tripartite, transom display windows along Westminster and Washington Streets lured pedestrians through the two-story arched entrances at the corners of Westminster and Union, and Washington and Union streets. Inside, patrons delighted over tin ceilings and hard wood and terrazzo floors. These architectural details remain intact today. Outside, the free standing cast iron clock provided a prominent downtown landmark

In 1974, suburban retail establishments finally took their competitive toll on the Shepard’s Department Store when it filed for bankruptcy, thus ending nearly one hundred years of business. Since then other retailers have briefly occupied portions of the building. None however reached even comparable success much to the dismay of downtown planners, in whose eyes the expected revitalization of Downcity depended largely on the occupation and restoration of this building. In 1990 PPS staged a charette, a high energy design problem solving session, to develop possible reuse strategies. Ninety people participated in the event, including prominent architects, developers, builders, preservation professionals, and state and city officials. Among other proposals, participants recognized the potential of the former department store to house the University of Rhode Island’s Continuing Education Department. Despite progress, the building remained vacant at the time of its 1994 nomination to the first PPS Ten Most List.

Within a year of the listing, the URI decided to use the Shepard’s Building for offices and its continuing education department, a use that was suggested by PPS in 1990. PPS did research in 1994 and discovered that there were successful precedents nationwide, for example in Chicago and Portland, Maine, for the conversion of downtown department stores for educational facilities. The Shepard’s Building interior and exterior underwent a major renovation and it was saved

SAVED: On April 7, 1994, shortly after its Ten Most listing, the Board of Governors for Higher Education unanimously approved the proposed relocation of the Providence URI campus to the Shepard’s Building. The move responded in large part to the necessary demolition of the current facility at the future site of Providence Place. The Shepard’s location was chosen over a competing proposal from the Foundry Corporation. On April 20, 1995 PPS trustees and staff joined project architect David Presbrey to view the redevelopment’s progress. Work ended by the close of that year in time for January classes. The building now houses URI offices in addition to its continuing education department. The rehabilitation of the Shepard’s Building marked the first success story of the Ten Most List and acted as one of the first steps in the Providence Renaissance.



Return to the 1994 Most Endangered Properties List