The U.S. state of Rhode Island is home to 27 buildings over 175 feet (53 m) in height. Five of these buildings are taller than 300 feet (91 m), all of which are located in the state's capital and largest city, Providence.
The tallest skyscraper in the city and state is the Industrial National Bank Building at 111 Westminster Street in Downtown Providence, which rises 26 floors and 428 feet (130 m).[1] The Industrial National Bank Building, nicknamed the "Superman Building" due to its resemblance to the fictional Daily Planet building from the 1950s TV series, Adventures of Superman,[1] is also the sixth-tallest building in New England outside of Boston.[2] The second-tallest building in Providence is One Financial Plaza, which rises 30 floors and 410 feet (125 m) and was completed in 1973.[3]
As one of the early manufacturing centers in the United States, many of Providence's tallest buildings were constructed prior to 1930; among these are the Industrial National Bank Building, Turk's Head Building, and Bannigan Building. The city went through a second building boom in the 1970s, during which One Financial Plaza and Textron Tower, the city's second and fifth-tallest buildings, were completed. In the 1990s and 2000s, the city again experienced a construction boom. Dubbed the Providence "Renaissance,"[4] this period saw the construction of four of the cities ten tallest buildings.
This lists ranks Rhode Island structures based on standard height measurement. This includes spires and architectural details but does not include antenna masts. An equal sign (=) following a rank indicates the same height between two or more buildings. The "Year" column indicates the year in which the building was completed.
With its former antenna mast included, the building reached a total height of 395 feet (120 m), more than doubling its effective height and making it the third-tallest building in the city when measuring by pinnacle height.[33]
Original attempt to implode the building failed.[50]
Timeline of tallest buildings
This table lists buildings that once held the title of tallest building in Rhode Island. Since the completion of the First Baptist Church in America, all structures to hold the title have been located in Providence.
^The Biltmore Hotel is ranked including the height of the prominent "BILTMORE" sign on the top of the building. Such signs are often included in architectural heights, which is what this particular list ranks. However, some references do not include the sign in the total height of the building. Without the sign, the Biltmore stands at 205 feet (62 m), making it the 13th-tallest in Providence rather than the 10th-tallest.
References
General
"Buildings of Providence". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on October 14, 2012. Retrieved August 21, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^ ab"One Financial Plaza". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on September 12, 2004. Retrieved August 21, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^Leazes; et al. (2004). Providence, The Renaissance City. Northeastern University Press. ISBN1-55553-604-2.
^"The Westin Providence". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved August 21, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^"Westin Hotel". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
^"Textron Tower". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on March 26, 2007. Retrieved August 21, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^"Textron Tower". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
^"50 Kennedy Plaza". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007. Retrieved August 21, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
^"Waterplace 2". SkyscraperPage.com. Retrieved August 21, 2012.
^"Pawtucket City Hall". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2020. Retrieved January 7, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)