Providence Fruit Terminal
Recently demolished, this image was captured Jan. 13, 2008, the day before the demolishion began.
Providence Fruit & Produce Warehouse was built in 1929 and was in business for 69 yrs when it closed in 1998.
Which brings us to decade later. "We mourn the loss of the Fruit and Produce Warehouse, which through a series of unfortunate events and a pattern of neglect, had to come down for public safety reasons. This warehouse represents the last major component of an important historic district. When the Merchants Cold Storage building came down in 1998, we should have known that the rest of the district was doomed." This quote was taken from the Art In Ruins website where you can find more information about this structure and its history. Follow the link from above.
The structure was owned by the State of Rhode Island until 2005, when a Johnston developer purchased the property for $4.5 million dollars (which was a steal!). The deal was that the developer would restore the buildings character and architecture. However, they did not address the property right away and the vandalism continued. There were various fires that were more than likely started by teens. Even though the building was a concrete structure, all the fruit crates, papers, files, machines were all inside, assisting to fires spreading quickly.
Shot with my D200 with my 18-200mm VR lens @ 18mm F3.5.
10 responses
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Paul Lavallee gave props (21 Feb 2008):
i love the perspective, depth, & color
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D B said (22 Feb 2008):
Oh man, the story of this building's demolition is tragic. It was slated to be preserved as a historic landmark, and the *$%# developers screwed over the State (and taxpayers). Makes me so mad.
Thank you for capturing it before it went - I loved that building. -
John Sloan said (22 Feb 2008):
Really cool composition, I really love this kind of stuff too.
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Adrian Rodriguez said (25 Feb 2008):
Wow....Got my VOTE
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Ron Lodi said (25 Feb 2008):
nice story and shot ron
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Mandolin Davis gave props (28 Feb 2008):
great story indeed. thanks for the info.
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John Linton gave props (18 Apr 2008):
As soon as they started building Providence Place I knew its days were numbered. Cool shot. I wish I had found while I could still vote.
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Laura Hartley gave props (3 Jul 2008):
What a gdamned shame. Lovely preservation of the old place.....
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Vincent J. DeSanto said (29 Jul 2009):
I remember going to this market when I was a kid. Good times there.
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Brian Basi gave props (2 Aug 2009):
It's photos and back stories like this that I love documenting life with visuals! Thanks for sharing the info!!!
