One Financial Plaza (Providence)

One Financial Plaza
Map
General information
TypeOffice
LocationOne Financial Plaza,
Providence, RI 02891, United States
Coordinates41°49′31.11″N 71°24′36.14″W / 41.8253083°N 71.4100389°W / 41.8253083; -71.4100389
Construction started1970
Completed1973
Height
Roof413 ft (126 m)
Technical details
Floor count28
Design and construction
Architect(s)John Carl Warnecke & Associates
DeveloperHospital Trust Corporation

One Financial Plaza, also known as the Sovereign Bank Tower and formerly known as the Hospital Trust Tower,[1] is an international-style skyscraper that stands along Kennedy Plaza in Downtown Providence, Rhode Island. The building is the second-tallest in the city and state, surpassed in height only by the Industrial National Bank Building.

Architecture

Designed by John Carl Warnecke & Associates, One Financial Plaza takes the form of a rectangular prism with beveled vertical edges. The facade is clad in pre-cast concrete and travertine. The structure is topped with a wide masonry cap surrounded by lights that glow white at night; the light colors are changed to green and red for the Christmas holiday season, red for Valentine's Day and Saint Joseph's Day, and green for Saint Patrick's Day. Atop the building's roof is the highest helicopter pad in the state of Rhode Island.

The Hospital Trust Tower was built to house the institution responsible for funding Rhode Island Hospital and stands adjacent to the original Rhode Island Hospital Trust Building.[2]

William McKenzie Woodward, a well-known architectural historian and staff member of the Rhode Island Historical Preservation & Heritage Commission, does not agree aesthetically with the building, calling it a "lackluster addition to both the street and the skyline" saying that its "blunt mass" is made "more graceless" by its travertine curtain wall even though it is part of the Big 3, the most recognizable part of the Providence skyline that is also often seen in the television series Family Guy.

  • The building as viewed from across the Providence River
    The building as viewed from across the Providence River
  • The structure features prominently in the Providence skyline
    The structure features prominently in the Providence skyline
  • The building (2nd from left) alongside other Providence structures
    The building (2nd from left) alongside other Providence structures

References

  1. ^ "| Hospital Trust Tower". Archived from the original on 2016-08-21. Retrieved 2016-06-22.
  2. ^ Woodward, Wm McKenzie, "Guide to Providence Architecture, 1st ed, (2003), United States, ISBN 0-9742847-0-X, pp. 79-80