Industrial National Bank Building
Rhode Island’s tallest building at 428 feet, completed in 1928 with a three-story banking hall and an extraordinary airship gondola room, immortalized by H. P. Lovecraft as the red-beaconed tower that made the night grotesque.
At a glance
Designed by Walker & Gillette with local architect George Frederic Hall and completed in 1928, the Industrial National Bank Building rises 26 floors and 428 feet above Providence’s Westminster Street, making it Rhode Island’s tallest building. Its Indiana limestone and Deer Isle granite tower, with the setback silhouette characteristic of the late-1920s American skyscraper, houses a three-story banking hall with black-marble pillars, bronze grilles, and 40 teller windows, and—on what is effectively the building’s upper observation level—a room designed to resemble an airship gondola, complete with a wine closet. H. P. Lovecraft, who lived in Providence and set several stories here, described its beacon in “The Haunter of the Dark” (1935) as having “blazed up to make the night grotesque.” Known locally as the Superman Building, it is currently undergoing conversion to 285 residential apartments.
Key facts
- Architects: Walker & Gillette; George Frederic Hall (local associate)
- General contractor: Starrett Corporation
- Completed: October 1, 1928
- Height: 428 feet (130 m), 26 floors
- Exterior: Indiana limestone with Deer Isle granite base
- Nickname: “Superman Building” (though not the actual model for that building)
- Current status: Under conversion to 285 residential apartments ($270 million renovation)
History
The site at 111 Westminster Street had held the Butler Exchange Building, a structure from 1872, which was demolished in 1925 to make way for the new tower. When the Industrial National Bank Building opened on October 1, 1928, it was Rhode Island’s tallest building and one of the most ambitious structures in New England. The timing was unfortunate in one sense: the Great Depression arrived within a year, and the bank it was built for spent the following decades contracting rather than expanding. The building changed its corporate name to Fleet Bank Tower in 1982 when Industrial Trust became Fleet Bank, and passed through Fleet’s merger with Shawmut National (1995) and Bank of America’s acquisition of FleetBoston (2004) before Bank of America vacated in 2013, leaving the building empty for the first time.
The building’s cultural presence in Providence exceeds its banking history. H. P. Lovecraft, Providence’s most famous writer, described it in “The Haunter of the Dark” (1935) as the “monstrous cylindrical tower” whose beacon “had blazed up to make the night grotesque”—a detail that has given the building a permanent place in American weird fiction. The nickname Superman Building is popular locally, though the connection is apocryphal: co-creator Joe Shuster’s Daily Planet was actually modeled on Toronto buildings, and the TV Adventures of Superman series used Los Angeles City Hall.
The current redevelopment project, which began interior demolition and asbestos abatement in 2023, aims to convert the building into 285 apartments (57 affordable units) at an estimated cost of $270 million. Federal loan approvals in 2025 appeared to put the long-stalled project on track for completion.
What you see
The tower’s Indiana limestone exterior rises in the stepped setbacks that Walker & Gillette used to give Providence’s skyline its distinctive silhouette. The Deer Isle granite base grounds the building in darker material, while relief panels depicting the seals of Providence and Rhode Island ornament the cornice above street level. The stepped crown—illuminated at night with a red beacon—is visible from much of the city and from Interstate 95 as it passes through downtown.
The three-story banking hall that occupied the ground floor was one of the great interior spaces of 1920s New England: black-marble pillars supported a ceiling decorated with ornate domes and chandeliers, and 40 bronze-grilled teller windows lined the walls. Above the banking floors, executive suites occupied the upper levels; the most remarkable was the gondola room—an interior designed to resemble the observation deck of an airship, complete with a wine closet. Whether this room reflected a client’s personal enthusiasm for dirigibles or simply the era’s fascination with aviation and technology, it gives the building a singularity that straightforward commercial architecture cannot match.
Practical information
- Access: Building under active renovation (2023–); exterior visible from Westminster Street
- Address: 111 Westminster Street, Providence, RI 02903
- Recommended time: 15–20 minutes for exterior viewing
- Admission: Free (exterior)
- Note: Interior not accessible during renovation; check local news for apartment opening date
Getting there
The building stands at 111 Westminster Street in the heart of downtown Providence. T.F. Green International Airport (PVD) is approximately 10 miles south via I-95. Providence Station (MBTA commuter rail, Amtrak) is a five-minute walk north on Exchange Terrace. RIPTA bus routes serve Westminster Street. Paid parking is available in garages off Westminster and Dorrance Streets.
Nearby
- Rhode Island School of Design Museum: Major American art collection, five minutes’ walk north on Benefit Street
- Providence City Hall (1878): Beaux-Arts civic landmark one block north on Dorrance Street
- Benefit Street: One of America’s finest concentrations of preserved colonial and Federal architecture, five minutes’ walk east
Sources
- Wikipedia, “Industrial National Bank Building” — en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industrial_National_Bank_Building
- H. P. Lovecraft, “The Haunter of the Dark” (1935), Weird Tales
- Providence Preservation Society, Westminster Street historic documentation
Find it on the map
See this place and what’s around it →📷 Diventa un fotografo di Cultural Heritage Online
Condividi le tue foto dei luoghi: restano pubblicate con la tua firma come autore. Più vengono viste, più ti fai conoscere — e presto un concorso premierà le foto più apprezzate.
Accedi o registrati gratis per aggiungere una fotoDo you manage this place?
This page is read by travellers and heritage enthusiasts who find it on Google. Keep it accurate — and make it work for you. Free for non-profit heritage institutions.