Skyscrapers in Rhode Island
The skyline of Providence as viewed from across the Providence River
Tallest buildingIndustrial National Bank Building (1928)
Tallest building height428 feet (130 m)
Number of tall buildings (2025)
Taller than 100 m (328 ft)4
Number of tall buildings — feet
Taller than 300 ft (91.4 m)6

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.

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.

Rank Name Image Height
ft (m) 		Floors Year Location Use Notes
01.01 Industrial National Bank Building 428 (130) 26 1928 Providence

41°49′28.27″N 71°24′39.89″W / 41.8245194°N 71.4110806°W / 41.8245194; -71.4110806 (:Industrial National Bank Building)

Vacant
  • The Industrial National Bank Building has been the tallest building in the city and the state since its completion in 1928
  • The structure has been vacant since 2013[5]
  • Tallest building in Rhode Island constructed in the 1920s
02.02 One Financial Plaza 410 (125) 30 1973 Providence

41°49′31.11″N 71°24′36.14″W / 41.8253083°N 71.4100389°W / 41.8253083; -71.4100389 (One Financial Plaza)

Office
  • Built as the Hospital Trust Tower
  • Also known as Sovereign Bank Tower[3][6]
  • Tallest building in Rhode Island constructed in the 1970s
03.03 The Residences Providence 380 (116) 31 2007 Providence

41°49′30.32″N 71°24′54.77″W / 41.8250889°N 71.4152139°W / 41.8250889; -71.4152139 (The Residences at the Westin)

Residential Tallest building in Rhode Island constructed in the 2000s[7][8][9]
04.04 Omni Providence Hotel 329 (100) 25 1993 Providence

41°49′31.15″N 71°24′58.5″W / 41.8253194°N 71.416250°W / 41.8253194; -71.416250 (The Westin Providence)

Hotel
  • Formerly the Westin Providence
  • Tallest building in Rhode Island constructed in the 1990s
  • Became the tallest hotel in Providence upon its completion, surpassing the Providence Biltmore[10][11]
05.05 Manchester Street Generating Station 321 (98) 1996 Providence

41°48′57″N 71°24′16″W / 41.815829°N 71.404329°W / 41.815829; -71.404329 (Manchester Street Generating Station)

Power station
  • The smokestacks of the Manchester Street Generating Station rise to a height of 321 feet[12]
06.06 Textron Tower 311 (95) 23 1971–72 Providence

41°49′29.63″N 71°24′33.05″W / 41.8248972°N 71.4091806°W / 41.8248972; -71.4091806 (Textron Tower)

Office
07.07 50 Kennedy Plaza 285 (87) 20 1985 Providence

41°49′29.8″N 71°24′38.09″W / 41.824944°N 71.4105806°W / 41.824944; -71.4105806 (50 Kennedy Plaza)

Office Tallest building in Rhode Island constructed in the 1980s[15][16]
08.08 Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island Headquarters 236 (72) 14 2009 Providence

41°49′40.2672″N 71°24′48.261″W / 41.827852000°N 71.41340583°W / 41.827852000; -71.41340583 (Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island Headquarters)

Office [17][18]
09.09 Waterplace 1 236 (72) 19 2008 Providence

41°49′38.44″N 71°24′45.098″W / 41.8273444°N 71.41252722°W / 41.8273444; -71.41252722 (Waterplace 1)

Residential
10.010 Rhode Island State House 223 (68) 4 1904 Providence

41°49′51.1032″N 71°24′54.053″W / 41.830862000°N 71.41501472°W / 41.830862000; -71.41501472 (Rhode Island State House)

Governmental
  • Was the tallest building in Providence before being surpassed by the Industrial National Bank Building.[20][21]
  • Tallest building in Rhode Island constructed in the 1900s
11= Biltmore Hotel 220 (67) 18 1922 Providence

41°49′27.73″N 71°24′48.4″W / 41.8243694°N 71.413444°W / 41.8243694; -71.413444 (Biltmore Hotel)

Hotel
  • Tallest hotel in the city from 1922 until the completion of the Westin Providence in 1993[22][a]
11= The Tower at Carnegie Abbey 220 (67) 17 2009 Portsmouth

41°36′58.3″N 71°16′10.8″W / 41.616194°N 71.269667°W / 41.616194; -71.269667

Residential
  • Tallest building in Newport County and outside of Providence[23]
12 Providence County Courthouse 217 (66) 7 1930 Providence

41°49′31.76″N 71°24′24.84″W / 41.8254889°N 71.4069000°W / 41.8254889; -71.4069000 (Providence County Courthouse)

Governmental Tallest building in Rhode Island constructed in the 1930s[22][24]
13 Turk's Head Building 217 (66) 16 1913 Providence

41°49′28.42″N 71°24′35.5″W / 41.8245611°N 71.409861°W / 41.8245611; -71.409861 (Turk's Head Building)

Office Tallest building in Rhode Island constructed in the 1910s[22][25]
14 Waterplace 2 210 (64) 17 2008 Providence

41°49′38.22″N 71°24′48.05″W / 41.8272833°N 71.4133472°W / 41.8272833; -71.4133472 (Waterplace 2)

Residential [26]
15 Pawtucket City Hall 209 (64) 3 1933 Pawtucket

41°52′44.2″N 71°22′55.8″W / 41.878944°N 71.382167°W / 41.878944; -71.382167

Governmental
  • Tallest building in Pawtucket[27]
16 Grace Church ~206 (63) 1 1860 Providence

41°49′19″N 71°24′49″W / 41.82183°N 71.413507°W / 41.82183; -71.413507 (Grace Church)

Church Tallest building in Rhode Island constructed in the 19th century
17= Carrol Tower 199 (61) 16 1973 Providence

41°49′38.22″N 71°24′48.05″W / 41.8272833°N 71.4133472°W / 41.8272833; -71.4133472 (Waterplace 2)

Residential
  • Twin tower of Parenti Villa[28]
17= Parenti Villa 199 (61) 16 1973 Providence

41°49′11.6″N 71°26′10.0″W / 41.819889°N 71.436111°W / 41.819889; -71.436111 (Waterplace 2)

Residential
  • Twin tower of Carrol Tower.[29]
18 Towers East 194 (59) 16 1976 Pawtucket

41°52′33″N 71°23′09″W / 41.875806°N 71.385755°W / 41.875806; -71.385755 (Slater Hill)

Residential
19 First Unitarian Church of Providence 189 (58) 1816 Providence

41°49′28″N 71°24′18″W / 41.824381°N 71.404901°W / 41.824381; -71.404901 (First Unitarian Church)

Church
20 Charlesgate North 187 (57) 15 1970 Providence

41°50′19.6902″N 71°24′35.2368″W / 41.838802833°N 71.409788000°W / 41.838802833; -71.409788000 (Waterplace 2)

Residential [31]
21 First Baptist Church 185 (56) 1775 Providence

41°49′39″N 71°24′30″W / 41.827476°N 71.408292°W / 41.827476; -71.408292 (First Baptist Church)

Church Tallest building in Rhode Island constructed in the 18th century
22 Fogarty Manor 182 (55) 1969 Pawtucket

41°52′50″N 71°22′59″W / 41.880481°N 71.38316°W / 41.880481; -71.38316 (Slater Hill)

Residential Tallest building in Rhode Island constructed in the 1960s
23= One Citizens Plaza 180 (55) 13 1990 Providence

41°49′38.4558″N 71°24′38.2926″W / 41.827348833°N 71.410636833°W / 41.827348833; -71.410636833 (One Citizens Plaza)

Office [32]
23= Brown University Sciences Library 180 (55) 15 1971 Providence

41°49′36.85″N 71°24′0.49″W / 41.8269028°N 71.4001361°W / 41.8269028; -71.4001361 (Brown University Sciences Library)

University
  • 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]
24 121 South Main Street 178 (54) 11 1984 Providence

41°49′27″N 71°24′25″W / 41.824074°N 71.407019°W / 41.824074; -71.407019 (121 South Main Street)

University
25 Hospital Trust Building 177 (54) 13 1920 Providence

41°49′32.38″N 71°24′34.83″W / 41.8256611°N 71.4096750°W / 41.8256611; -71.4096750 (Hospital Trust Building)

University
  • Also known as the Fleet Building[36]
  • Currently owned by the Rhode Island School of Design and used as a residence hall
26 Sister Dominica Manor 175 (53) 16 1966 Providence

41°49′21.84″N 71°25′16.69″W / 41.8227333°N 71.4213028°W / 41.8227333; -71.4213028 (Sister Dominica Manor)

Residential
  • Built as the Bradford House
27 Hilton Providence Hotel ~173 (53) 14 1969 Providence

41°49′23″N 71°25′07″W / 41.822989°N 71.418550°W / 41.822989; -71.418550 (Hilton Providence)

Hotel
28 Edge College Hill 172 (52) 15 2018 Providence

41°49′40″N 71°24′36″W / 41.827908°N 71.410074°W / 41.827908; -71.410074 (Edge College Hill)

Residential
  • 169 Canal St.
  • Tallest building in Rhode Island constructed in the 2010s[39][40]
29 Slater Hill Apartments 170 (52) 14 Pawtucket

41°52′29″N 71°23′10″W / 41.874726°N 71.386038°W / 41.874726; -71.386038 (Slater Hill)

Residential
30 One Regency Plaza ~161 13 1973 Residential
31 Bannigan Building ~160 (49) 11 1896 Providence

41°49′29″N 71°24′33″W / 41.824679°N 71.409209°W / 41.824679; -71.409209 (Bannigan Building)

Office
32 Union Trust Company Building ~157 (48) 12 1902 Providence

41°49′25″N 71°24′41″W / 41.823685°N 71.411350°W / 41.823685; -71.411350 (Union Trust Company Building)

Office
33 Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul 156 (48) 1889 Providence

41°49′09″N 71°24′59″W / 41.819282°N 71.416506°W / 41.819282; -71.416506 (Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul)

Church
34 Cornerstone Building 120 (37) 11 1976 Woonsocket

42°00′25″N 71°30′33″W / 42.00686°N 71.5093°W / 42.00686; -71.5093 (Cornerstone Building)

Office and medical The building is ADA compliant

Tallest demolished

Name Height
ft (m) 		Floors Built Destroyed Location Use Notes
Hartford Park 10 1951 01.0 1989 Providence Residential
  • Residential high rise constructed by the Providence Housing Authority
  • Original attempt to implode the building failed.[43]

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.

Name Image Location Years as tallest Height
ft (m) 		Floors Coordinates Reference
Trinity Church Newport c. 1750–1775 ~150 (46) 41°29′14″N 71°18′48″W / 41.48732°N 71.31328°W / 41.48732; -71.31328 (Trinity Church) [44]
First Baptist Church Providence 1775–1816 185 (56) 41°49′39″N 71°24′30″W / 41.827476°N 71.408292°W / 41.827476; -71.408292 [45]
First Unitarian Church of Providence Providence 1816–1816 189 (58)
Grace Church Providence 1860–1904 ~206 (63) 41°49′19″N 71°24′49″W / 41.82208°N 71.41365°W / 41.82208; -71.41365 (Grace Church)
Rhode Island State House Providence 1904–1927 223 (68) 4 41°49′51.08″N 71°24′53.87″W / 41.8308556°N 71.4149639°W / 41.8308556; -71.4149639 (Rhode Island State House) [21]
Industrial National Bank Building Providence 1927–present 428 (130) 26 41°49′28.27″N 71°24′39.89″W / 41.8245194°N 71.4110806°W / 41.8245194; -71.4110806 (Industrial National Bank Building) [46]

Notes

  1. 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
Specific
  1. "Bank of America Building". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on May 15, 2007.
  2. "Diagram of New England Skyscrapers". SkyscraperPage.com.
  3. "One Financial Plaza". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on September 12, 2004.
  4. Leazes; et al. (2004). Providence, The Renaissance City. Northeastern University Press. ISBN 1-55553-604-2.
  5. Abbott, Elizabeth (October 29, 2013). "The Superman Building in Providence, Now Dark, Is in Need of a Savior". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331.
  6. "One Financial Plaza". SkyscraperPage.com.
  7. "The Residences at the Westin". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on February 27, 2007.
  8. "Current Development Projects: Residences at the Westin". The Procaccianti Group.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  9. "Westin Hotel East". SkyscraperPage.com.
  10. "The Westin Providence". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007.
  11. "Westin Hotel". SkyscraperPage.com.
  12. "Hannah Sheldon-Dean's Project: The Manchester Street Generating Station". www.brown.edu.
  13. "Textron Tower". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on March 26, 2007.
  14. "Textron Tower". SkyscraperPage.com.
  15. "50 Kennedy Plaza". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on September 29, 2007.
  16. "50 Kennedy Plaza". SkyscraperPage.com.
  17. "Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island Headquarters Building". Emporis.com.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  18. Barbarisi, Daniel. "Blue Cross unveils its plan to build new headquarters". Providence Journal.
  19. "Waterplace 1". SkyscraperPage.com.
  20. "The Dome". Rhode Island Facts and Figures. Archived from the original on February 23, 2007.
  21. "Rhode Island State House". SkyscraperPage.com.
  22. Woodward, William McKenzie (2003). Guide to Providence Architecture. EA Johnson Co. Printers. pp. 81–157. ISBN 0-9742847-0-X.
  23. "The Tower at Carnegie Abbey". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on June 13, 2021.
  24. "Providence County Courthouse". SkyscraperPage.com.
  25. "Turk's Head Building". SkyscraperPage.com.
  26. "Waterplace 2". SkyscraperPage.com.
  27. "Pawtucket City Hall". Emporis.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2020.
  28. "Carroll Tower, Providence | 125365". Emporis. Archived from the original on April 18, 2018.
  29. "Parenti Villa, Providence | 196780". Emporis. Archived from the original on April 18, 2018.
  30. "Emporis Regency West Apartments". Archived from the original on August 13, 2020.
  31. "Charles Gate North, Providence | 215906". Emporis. Archived from the original on April 18, 2018.
  32. "1 Citizens Plaza". SkyscraperPage.com.
  33. "Sciences Library". SkyscraperPage.com.
  34. "Old Stone Square // Guide to Providence Architecture". guide.ppsri.org.
  35. "05-010 (121 South Main)". www.brown.edu.
  36. "Hospital Trust Building". SkyscraperPage.com.
  37. Houghton, Donald M (August 4, 1968). "Four Major Hotels By 1973".
  38. "Emporis Hilton Providence Hotel". Archived from the original on April 14, 2021.
  39. "Edge College Hill".
  40. "Emporis Edge College Hill".
  41. "Emporis 10 Weybosset Street". Archived from the original on March 8, 2021.
  42. "Points of Interest in the Cathedral". The Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011.
  43. "Hartford Avenue Apartments". ArtInRuins.
  44. Millar, John Fitzhugh (October 6, 2014). The Buildings of Peter Harrison: Cataloguing the Work of the First Global Architect, 1716-1775. McFarland. p. 94. ISBN 978-0-7864-7962-7.
  45. Smith, George Everard Kidder (1996). Source Book of American Architecture: 500 Notable Buildings from the 10th Century to the Present. Princeton Architectural Press. ISBN 978-1-56898-025-6.
  46. "Bank of America Building". SkyscraperPage.com.