The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1900-04-18
CHAT AND CHAFF.


The Central fre station plans have
been settled upon and Incidentally an
important feature in the scheme OF
adornment Of our big plaza. Exchange
place. Is adopted.
| The Cty Hall ut or.e end, the new
fire station at the other. the memorial
fountain in the middle and the soldiers
and sailors and the Burnside monu-
ments somewhere about. the railroad
station on one side and a miscellaneous
collection Of modern and ancient archi-
lecture on the other. green sward and
asphalt paths-my! folks that land in
Providence, for the first time will think
they've struck Rocky Point or Cres-
cent Park without taking boat.
There may be two opinions about
the Exchange Place park. but there
Is no call to hold but one OF them for
that question il settled. The plaza is
here Ito stay and now the only thing to
co Is to make Vt as lovely rs possible,
refrain from walking on the grass don't
throw peanut shells around and resist
the temptation to spit on the statuary
or throw cigar stubs in the fountain.
There also may be two opinions about
modern architecture as practiced sue
cessfully in Providence, but as i re-
gard the plan selected for the new fire
station 1 am again impressed with the
inadvisability OF holding more than one
of them--especially for an architect.
fat, NJ AxI rrtt t.>to
TO make OF the plan adopted for the
new fire station as a specific piece of
architecture.
make no pretense TO be an expert or
to have any authority for criticism.
If that Is the kind We like we are
bound to like that kind--and IL seems
to me very much so. as 1t were. so to
speak.
In other words, 1t strikes me that the
town is running very much to same
ness in it's architecture.
A tomb-like sameness. so to say.
The fact is. of course our new State
House revolutionized local architecture
as other buildings of It's kind affected
architectural ideas all over the United
States.
The Rhode Island State House-the
Boston public library-the Vanderbilt
Marble palace at Newport-xhe Worlds
Fair buildings at Chicago. These mag
nificent examples OF architecture We're
different than anything that had been
done for many years.
They had the advantage OF being done
on a large scale hence their widespread
influence.
In them all was the brain of one man
the late Richard NJ. Hunt.
The spell OF Hunts genius is felt
more in Providence than in most other
rAces. fancy.
Because before our eyes every day is'
that magnificent marble pile. the new
State House.
But ] am not sure that we are not
running the Hunt ideal into the ground.
And am not sure that Hunt would
not laugh at us II he could see how into
every sort Of architecture his majestic
influence has been exerted.
was raised about town when the state
house commission announced their Sc
lection.
Many Of us declared 1t was the
homeliest plan Of the whole lot submit
ted.
Friendly critics only went so far as
to express the fear that the new state
house would look like a tomb.
But we were educated in time to a
correct appreciation of the new idea,
simplicity" was the architectural
abracadabra that we were called upon
TO worship.
our attention was called to the Greek
models.
A blank wall was asserted to be the
architects ideal
And the Boston public library and the
triumphant staff and lathe structures
of the Worlds Fair contributed to
convince us that our new state house
was all right.
And in q little while We all became
strong on simplicity" enthusiasts as
to blank walls" and when II came to
the Greek ideals we needed han TO
expound them.
And. no. from a long period Of mis-
cellaneous architecture. of individual
freedom OF expression and of delightful
abandon in ideas, we have rushed to
the extreme OF single model, a
single idea--the tomb, the blank wall"
| simplicity" the Greek IDEAL
straight lines" and all that.
There is more to say on the subject
| and a number OF concrete examples to
| cite illustrative Of the idea that now-a-
/ days we are following Hunt In every
| thing from state houses to sheds.
But will reserve further remarks
for tomorrow.
Though. no doubt. you will be able
to anticipate what I am going, to say
| from what have already said.
| please remember though I am not n