June 2020 – present

We have all developed our own coping mechanisms during Covid. When I found myself less able to deeply explore cities as I love to do, I began to build my own. I have amassed a large and still growing collection of architectural building blocks old and new from all over the world. I’m pleased to now launch a new series of public programs building miniature cities with people young and old across Rhode Island. If this sounds like fun to you, reach out to me and let’s build something together.

The Industrial Trust Company called 238 Main Street in Pawtucket, RI its home from 1901 until 1951. The now-vacant building once boasted a Neoclassical façade and luxurious interiors. Today, only the vaulted, copper-clad dome remains from the original building. The once grand facade was lost to the wave of mid-century urban renewal that so much of Pawtucket surrendered to. Doors Open RI featured this building in its fall festival. One of my favorite parts of the festival was the exhibit I collaborated on with curator Julia Lazarus in the storefront of 238 Main St.

We traced the building’s history through a timeline of archival photos and written text through the use of simple copy paper and colored tape. We provided guests with sticky notes to add their knowledge of the building’s past to our own and asked that they also offer their ideas for the building’s future. I think that a key part of the exhibit’s success was due to its unpolished quality. Because it wasn’t perfect, it easily invited intervention. The end result was deeply collaborative and totally awesome.

September 2019

Doors Open RI together with a superstar team from Leadership RI opened the doors to Pawtucket + Central Falls, and it was fantastic. We shared 10 remarkable places across these neighboring cities with over 1,000 people, for free. Attendees climbed into Cogswell Tower and found the mysterious grotto upon which it stands; they stepped into the Bridge Mill Power Station and discovered the stained glass dome of the shuttered Old Industrial Trust Bank Building and more. Together we shared stories and fresh perspectives on what makes these two cities so special.

Learn More on the Festival page. Download the Festival guide.

September 2017

The inaugural festival of Doors Open RI, under my leadership Doors Open Providence provided free, behind-the-scenes access to 24 unique locations across Rhode Island’s capital city, without tickets or reservations. 4,000 people climbed into attics, peered into vaults, examined specimens and even traveled through time.

Learn more by visiting the Festival page.

Download the Festival event guide (20,000 copies printed and distributed Providence Monthly)

March 2017

Like many brutalist structures, the Fogarty Building in downtown Providence didn’t have many fans. It wasn’t a particularly fine example of brutalism, but it was the most significant example of brutalism downtown, and it had strong bones. And it certainly had far more integrity than what was planned to replace it. It was with these thoughts of loss that I conceived of a funeral for the building as the wrecking ball was upon it. I thought, if only we could humanize the building, perhaps we could help people see it from a new perspective. Planned in partnership with Marisa Brown of Brown University Public Humanities Center, Doors Open RI and a small group of individuals who met during Hacking Heritage, the funeral was organized over the course of just one week.

On Friday March 17, we gathered around the open casket of the recently passed Fogarty Building in downtown Providence to say goodbye. Only 49 years old, it was built as the home for RI’s Department of Health and Human Services. It is now replaced by a cheap looking hotel.

The building had some friends and many foes. We heard from both in eulogies delivered by several people who knew the building best, including the daughter of the architect. After the funeral we processed around the building with our kazoos and a portable speaker playing “Oh Danny Boy” to a nearby watering hole to reflect on the life of our friend and changes in our city. The eulogy, co-authored by myself and Marisa Brown was published in the Providence Journal.

Read the Fogarty Building Obituary Here.

Our collaborator Janaya Kizzie worked with us to build a toolkit on planning funerals for buildings at the request of the National Trust for Historic Places to be shared nationally.

January 2017

With its ornate detailing, extravagant roofline and storied past, Barnaby’s Castle is a hallmark of Victorian design and one of the great cornerstones of Providence’s Westend. Doors Open RI partnered with the building on an open house style murder mystery event. Half of our ticket sales, $2,330, were donated to the castle’s ongoing restoration efforts. We welcomed 300+ people to help solve the mystery of who gifted Mrs. Josephine Barnaby a bottle of poisoned whiskey leading to her unfortunate demise. Everyone enjoyed a whiskey tasting as they immersed themselves in the building’s storied past.

Spring 2016 – Present

I founded Doors Open RI with the belief that it’s by welcoming the public into a range of sites at the heart of our neighborhoods, meeting their stewards and learning their stories, that we become connected to people and place and gain new perspectives on where we live. Doors Open RI is a local nonprofit based in Providence, RI that has become a key launching point for Rhode Island exploration through a series of public programs planned throughout the year ranging from small, intimate, behind-the-scenes tours to large, citywide “open house” festivals.

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Summer 2015

Responding to a board identified need and excitement for new Seattle Architecture Foundation (SAF) neighborhood-based programming, I led a summer-long process of open and honest dialogue with community leaders and design professionals on how SAF could most benefit Seattle neighborhoods. On behalf of SAF, I met with a total of 26 individuals representing 23 organizations across six Seattle neighborhoods to advise the design of a new program series and writing of a detailed report of future programmatic recommendations for SAF.

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