The Superman Building
111 Westminster, Providence, RIThe “Superman” Building, originally built for the Industrial Trust Company, currently stands as a silent, sleeping giant in downtown Providence. Built in 1928, Superman remains the tallest skyscraper in Providence. From 1928 until 2013, a bank had always been the major tenant in the building. Since 2013, when the last bank tenant moved out, the icon has remained vacant. In 2019 it was placed on the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s list of the 11 Most Endangered Historic Places, and (for the fifth time) on Providence Preservation Society’s annual list of Most Endangered Properties.
Original name: The Industrial Trust Company Building
Popularly known as: The Superman Building
Other past names: Fleet Bank Tower, Bank of America Building
Address: 111 Westminster Street, Providence, RI 02903
Architect:
Walker & Gillette (New York)
George Frederick Hall (Providence)
Builder: Starrett Brothers (New York)
Construction completed: 1928
Height: 428 feet
Floors: 26
Square footage: 380,000
Height rank, RI: 1
Structure: Steel, riveted
Cladding: Indiana limestone, Deer Island granite
Backup walls, floor slabs: Terra cotta block
Links:
National Trust for Historic Preservation 11 Most Endangered Historic Places 2019
Providence Preservation Society 2019 Most Endangered Properties
Edith Crouch, Walker & Gillette, American Architects: from Classicism Through Modernism (1900s-1950s), Schiffer Publishing Limited, 2014
