past projects
1192 Westminster aka Design House
Purchased in 2002 by West Broadway Neighborhood Association, 1192 Westminster Street is a gateway property that sat uninhabited and neglected for years. With support from community partners and creative neighbors, this historic residence was transformed into affordable housing and nonprofit office space with one-of-a-kind interiors created by local artists and designers.
1390 westminster street
Silas Brown built 1390 Westminster Street in c.1865 as a grand single-family Italianate villa. During the Depression, the Scola family, the owners at that time, divided the house into apartments and added Scola’s Market at the street level. In the 1950’s, the family added the second smaller storefront. Years later in the late 1990’s a non-owner occupant let the house fall into disrepair. WBNA recognized that this significant Westminster Street historic structure needed attention and could provide multiple benefits to the neighborhood and to neighbors.
go solar pvd
In 2011, WBNA launched its bulk purchase solar panel program – the first of its kind in Rhode Island – making renewable energy initiatives more affordable to home and business owners, and encouraging the use of green practices in historic districts.
Luongo Memorial Square Enhancement
In 2003, WBNA applied for federal funds to create a public place at Luongo Memorial Square. After years of city and state planning work, as well as steadfast advocacy by neighbors and legislators, construction began in late 2015. In May 2017, 14 years after the project was conceived, the Decatur Square Fountain was turned on for all to enjoy at the center of this new mini-park. In 2020, two historic plaques were installed in the square as part of WBNA’s Know Our Neighborhood History initiative.
1326 westminster street
WBNA purchased the former L & L Service Station in 2012 with the intent that it would be renovated and repurposed, but the EPA found high levels of toxic substances at the site, requiring demolition and cleanup. After remediation was completed in 2017, WBNA sold this important gateway property to Community MusicWorks, a local nonprofit that has served our neighborhood for over 20 years.
bocce and chess in the park
A gift of the Jeffrey family, this public project restores bocce courts to Dexter Training Ground along with chess tables as a benefit to the community that connects us with the past. This donation was given to the WBNA in honor of Bob and Gilda Jeffrey, an example and force of positive change in the neighborhood.
Rat-O-Rama
When a Harrison Street resident got fed up with the neighborhood's rampant rat problem, she joined with other neighbors and the WBNA to work on a solution together. This community organizing effort led to the first rat-proof trash can pilot program in the City, which eventually adopted universal lidded trash bins for all Providence residents.
Armory Historic District Expansion
In 2004, spearheaded by the WBNA, the Armory Local Historic District was doubled in size to include 509 properties.
1577 westminster street
In 2004, West Broadway Neighborhood Association purchased a vacant and blighted property at 1577 Westminster with an aim to help rebuild a neighborhood main street and provide much needed services to our community. In collaboration with neighbors and community partners, the site was developed to be a context-sensitive, "green," mixed use building with a grocery store on the ground floor and affordable assisted housing above.
westminster street improvement program
In 1999, WBNA secured federal transportation funds for the length of Westminster Street from the I-95 Service Road into Olneyville Square and up Manton Avenue. After a 12-year RIDOT design process (bureaucracy), the project was completed in 2011. Work included installation of decorative lighting, a new traffic light on Barton Street, and improvements to Canonicus Square and the Rt. 10 overpass.
Gas meter madness
In July of 2008, gas utility company National Grid began installing piping and equipment on the fronts of residents' homes without permission or notice. Neighbors responded in force, citing that these actions violated private property rights, caused unsafe conditions, and blighted homes & neighborhoods. By activating citizens and working closely with legislators, WBNA helped to get a law passed that gave protections to property owners throughout the state against the coercive actions of National Grid.
historic neighborhood plaques
The WBNA recently installed four historic marker panels with information on the rich and complex history of our neighborhood. Two can be found in Dexter Training Ground, and two more in Luongo Square.