Industrial National Bank Building

Butler Exchange Building Before the current building was erected, the site was the location of the six-story Butler Exchange Building. Located at 55 Exchange Place and constructed in 1872, the land was purportedly deeded by the heirs of the original Samuel Butler. Due to address changes across the city, by 1913 it bore the address 123 Westminster. The 1872 building housed the Rhode Island Commercial School which was purchased and merged into Bryant & Stratton College in 1916, the forerunner of Bryant University. It housed many retail businesses such as Dodge and Camfield, importers and grocers; A. & L. Tirocchi Gowns; and the Waite Auto Supply Company. The Providence Ladies' Sanitary Gymnasium was also a tenant. After a devastating fire, the Butler Exchange Building was demolished in 1925, to make way for a new tower. Though the community did not like the plans for the building because of its height, construction materials, and design Industrial Trust Company Commissioned in 1925 by the Industrial Trust Company – founded in 1886 by Samuel P. Colt – the current building was constructed in 1927-1928. during the inter-war boom period as the Industrial Trust Tower. Designed in the Art Deco style popular at the time, the building opened for tenants on October 1, 1928. It was renamed the Fleet Bank Tower when Industrial Trust changed its name to Fleet Financial Group in 1982. The building was purchased in 2008 by High Rock Development of Massachusetts for $33.2 million. At the time, Bank of America was the building's sole tenant and utilized about half the building. David Sweetser, who led High Rock Development, initially anticipated that he would be able to use the building as an office skyscraper and lease out the other space. == Vacancy and redevelopment ==

In 2011, media reports speculated that Bank of America would move out at the end of its ten-year lease. In 2012, Bank of America, still the sole tenant, decided not to renew its lease, The bank vacated the building in 2013, leaving it empty; The Wall Street Journal wrote in 2025 that the building's prolonged abandonment had negatively impacted economic activity around Providence City Hall. and the case was scheduled for trial in May 2017. Shortly after jury empanelment, the bank settled the suit on confidential terms. Redevelopment efforts Initial efforts When Bank of America moved out, High Rock initially wanted to convert the building to apartments. High Rock's request was turned down, in part because an unprofitable loan to 38 Studios in 2012 had turned public sentiment away from public funds. Sweetser tried to lease the Industrial Trust Building to companies such as Samsonite or Citizens Bank, both of which declined the offer after seeing the building's dilapidated condition. The proposals were met with mixed reaction with several individuals noting High Rock Development has $200 million available to put toward rehabilitation but has declined to do so. It was estimated that at least $115 million would be needed to rehabilitate the building. In December 2017, Paolino Properties and Gilbane Development announced a plan that would involve demolishing the building and replacing it with a new 36-story building housing Hasbro's headquarters. There was still no definite plan for the building by the next year. A representative of High Rock said in February 2019 that the owners were maintaining the building, even though drone footage from a local news source showed that the facade was visibly deteriorating. Due to the building's continued abandonment, the National Trust for Historic Preservation placed the building on a list of America's Most Endangered Places in 2019. The Industrial Trust Building also appeared on the Providence Preservation Society's list of most endangered places multiple times. 2020s efforts The building was nearly auctioned off in 2021 after High Rock failed to pay back taxes, but the auction was averted after High Rock pledged to pay the taxes. That year, High Rock reportedly submitted plans to the Rhode Island government to convert the building into a 285-unit apartment structure. In April 2022, officials including Governor Dan McKee announced plans to convert the Industrial National Bank Building into 285 residential units, at a cost of $220 million. One-fifth of the units would be affordable. Though the building would be mostly residential, it would also include community space, of offices and a banking hall covering . The full City Council approved the tax treaty the next month. The city government also offered to give the developers a $5 million grant and $10 million loan, and the state government offered $26 million, all conditional on a certificate of occupancy being issued. Consigli Construction was selected as the general contractor for the project. The first phase, which entailed interior demolition and asbestos abatement, would cost approximately $25 million and would take six to nine months. This phase would not involve the use of any public funds, and noted that their plans were to be carried out as a "top-down process beginning on the upper floors of the building". Work began the next month to renovate the building for residential use. The cost of renovation had increased to $270 million by late 2024 due to inflation, increased interest rates, and increases in construction expenses. Early the next year, the United States Department of Transportation determined that the building qualified for a federal loan of up to $236 million. High Rock and Providence Mayor Brett Smiley requested in May 2025 that the Rhode Island General Assembly modify the state's tax code. The modification was approved shortly afterward, exempted the project from $4.6 million in sales taxes for construction materials. Sweetser died that July, creating uncertainty over whether the project would proceed, since High Rock did not have a clear leader or any other properties in Providence. ==Architecture==

The building was a steel-frame structure sheathed in Indiana limestone, with Deer Isle granite at its base. The tower was advertised as "A Business Building for Building Business". It has six wings stemming from a central tower. Form and facade The Industrial Trust Building rises 26 stories ans measures tall. Starrett Corporation was the general contractor. It was among the tallest buildings in New England when completed, and ranked third after its construction to the 1919 Travelers Tower (at 527 feet/161 m) in Hartford, Connecticut, and the 1915 expansion of the Custom House Tower, at , in Boston. The majority of relief art is found on the cornice of the tower's base, where there are 16 carved panels and depictions of the Providence and Rhode Island seals. Interior A ground-level hall runs through the building from Westminster Street to Fulton Street. Staircases at either end of the hall descend to the first basement level, while a wide marble staircase ascends to a three-story-high banking room on the first floor, just above ground level. == Gallery ==

File:Industrial National Bank Building (62459).jpg|An upwards facing view of the building File:Industrial National Bank Building, 2021 2.jpg|The building from Kennedy Plaza File:Top of Industrial National Bank Building.jpg|The top of the building File:Providence Industrial National Bank SE Westminster Flagge RI 9404 20190428.jpg|Relief on facade File:Industrial Trust Building doors, Providence RI.jpg|Main doors File:Bank of America Building, Providence, night.jpg|The building at night File:The 26-floor 111 Westminster Street building (edited).jpg|The structure in 2018 from Kennedy Plaza ==In popular culture==

• Despite its resemblance to the Daily Planet building in the Superman comic book, Superman co-creator Joe Shuster claims he drew his inspiration not from the Providence building (nor the also rumored AT&T Huron Road Building in Cleveland, Ohio, where Shuster was living at the time), but rather from his home city of Toronto (such as the Commerce Court North and the Fairmont Royal York). The building shown in the Adventures of Superman television program, however, is the Los Angeles City Hall. • The Industrial Trust building is featured in H. P. Lovecraft's final story, "The Haunter of the Dark" (1935), where the narrator mentions that the red beacon at the top of the building "had blazed up to make the night grotesque." In his personal letters, Lovecraft compared the Industrial Trust building to the Lighthouse of Alexandria. • The building and its neighbors are displayed prominently on the skyline of the fictional City of Quahog, Rhode Island, the setting of the American adult animated sitcom Family Guy. ==See also==