The Providence City Hall is Tired - Dr. Ed Iannuccilli

Monday, January 16, 2023

Dr. Ed Iannuccilli, Columnist

 

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PHOTO: Providence Public Library

Research can transport you to many places, and recently it took me to Providence’s City Hall.

 

I have been investigating local opera companies organized and managed by Italian immigrants in Providence in the early 20th century.  Diane’s grandfather sang in the one located in Eagle Park in the early 1900s. Unfortunately, save for word of mouth and a single picture that Diane has of her grandfather as Pagliacci, I have little else.

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I have frequented many beautiful, and welcoming, hallowed halls of research; the Providence Public Library, the Hay Library, and the Rhode Island Historical Society Library to no avail. I was told that the city archives might have some information. Excited, I went to Providence City Hall. I was surprised by what I experienced.

 

Unlike those research havens I mentioned, Providence City Hall was hardly welcoming. I circled the building and tried the side doors. Locked. The beautiful façade was covered by a huge Christmas tree. The bunkered, shabby, small, unwelcoming, untidy entrance is in the rear. I entered, and I was surprised by the dreary overhead lights that made everyone and everything in the place seem maudlin.

 

The hospitable employees had welcoming smiles and were eager to help, notwithstanding the weary working environment. The receptionist knew how to spell my last name. The place was clean enough but didn’t seem so because it was crying for a spruce up . . . a little paint here, a little there, decluttering, new lighting, clean windows, etc. It belied the magnificence of the building.

 

“The archives are on the 6th floor. The elevator goes to five, and then you have to walk up.” I strolled through a dusky, chill, monolithic foyer, and took the cranky elevator to the fifth where I noted two sets of cluttered stairs. I walked up to a dingy archive department where I was welcomed by an engaging lady who asked what I needed, took my address, and just a few days later sent me what I wanted. A great help.

 

I would have loved to sit, think, and do my research there, but the smothering clutter, poor lighting, and smokey windows garnished with just a bit of sunlight hardly reflected what must have been available in the thousands of books crowded into towering shelves. Water stains decorated the walls. I felt the need to open a window as in a smoke-filled room. Sad.

 

City Hall has been the scene of several speeches by visiting dignitaries. President Teddy Roosevelt spoke on the City Hall steps in 1902. John F. Kennedy spoke in 1960, just before he was elected president.  In 1975, the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

 

In Providence’s historic district, this municipal palace should welcome, comfort educate and inspire. It should be returned to its once palatial magnificence. It should be a destination for research, education, history and tours. It must be a contributing structure to the city, not just an idle, unwelcoming bulk of granite.

 

C’mon, Providence. Showcase your resources.

Dr. Ed Iannuccilli is the author of three popular memoirs, “Growing up Italian; Grandfather’s Fig Tree and Other Stories”, “What Ever Happened to Sunday Dinner” and “My Story Continues: From Neighborhood to Junior High.”  NOW, he has written his fourth book "A Whole Bunch of 500 Word Stories."

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