Pawtucket City Hall is located at 137 Roosevelt Avenue in Pawtucket, Rhode Island on the Exchange Street Historic district. The building was designed by Providence architect, John O'Malley and was built between 1933 and 1953.
The front of Pawtucket City Hall has many interesting characteristics. The building is designed in a relatively classical manner along with the rest of the buildings on the street, such as Slater Mill. This building has a dozen cast-stone bas-relief panels located below the first floor windows. These panels illustrate people, buildings and scenes that are highly important to the city of Pawtucket's history. On each side of the main stairs leading up to the door way there are two eagles sculpted. These eagles are placed in a manner to give an effect that they are physically landing on the door step of the city hall.
Unfortunately, because of the building's old age, renovations were needed. So, architects were employed to restore the City Hall's glorious Art Deco feel, and give it a fresh new look. The restoration consisted of the repair of the existing ornamental stonework, miscellaneous selective removal and replacement of architectural precast, removal of brick veneer, and replacement with Art Deco precast to match the historic appeal of the original 1930's construction. Nevertheless, one crucial element of the building might be in danger...
Save the tower!Currently, members of the Pawtucket city council are pursuing the demolition of the historic art deco tower. The tower has a consistent leak that constantly is in need of repairs. These members feel that the "tower is not worth saving" because tax payer money could be put to better use then to preserve the tower.
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Pawtucket City Hall was designed to house all city offices under one roof. The left wing is the fire station and the right wing is police department headquarters. In between the fire station and police headquarters is a tower which is 209 feet tall. Inside the three-story tower is: the mayors office, the Board of Canvassers, City Clerk, Tax Assessor, Tax Collector, Zoning and Code Enforcement Office, Purchasing Division, Department of Planning and Redevelopment, the Personnel Department, and the Finance Department.
On a typical day the City Hall is bustling with people from workers to people visiting to pay parking tickets, get building permits, or just to speak to the city clerk. Upon entering the building it feels as if one is transported back in time to the 1930s with gold painted crown molding lining the ceiling and marble comprising the floor and the steps right when you walk in. The lines of the building are all very clean and the stairs going down and up curl around giving a feeling of grandeur. The light fixtures are simple and give off a dull yellow glow. If you stand at the back of the building and look out the windows you have a lovely view of the Seekonk River. Just like the stair case, the tower also was originally designed with two eagles on top. In 1974, the eagles fell off of the tower. In 1983 the building was added to the national register of historic places. In 2005, the city of Pawtucket spent a significant amount of money to restore the tower, but this restoration did not include replacing the eagles that had fallen off in 1974.
Why save it ?Saving the tower, is saving the city. Indeed, it is easily visible from Route 95, one of the busiest highways in the nation, the City Hall tower contributes to Pawtucket’s historic cityscape, whose multiple cupolas, turrets, and steeples, and of course Art Deco charm invites travelers to take notice of the city. Moreover, right next door to the City hall, is a assemblage of buildings which includes Slater Mill, Wilkinson Mill and the Sylvanus Brown House, a National Historic Landmark. This is a very notable site as America’s Industrial Revolution began there. So, it would be a shame for the city to lose visiters for removing the City Hall's tower, is removing a part of Pawtucket's history.
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