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| Turk's Head Building
|
| Information |
| Location |
Westminster and Weybosset Streets, Providence, Rhode Island, United States |
| Status |
Complete |
| Constructed |
1913 |
| Use |
Office |
| Height |
| Roof |
215 ft (66 m) |
| Technical details |
| Floor count |
16 |
| Companies |
| Architect |
Howells and Stokes |
| Developer |
Brown Land Co. |
The Turk's Head Building is a 16-story office high-rise in Providence, Rhode Island. Completed in 1913, the building is one of the oldest skyscrapers in Providence. Standing 215 feet (66 meters) tall, it is currently the 11th-tallest building in Providence. When completed in the 1913, the Turk's Head Building surpassed the 1901 Union Trust building to become the tallest building in the city. It retained that title until 1922, when the Providence Biltmore was completed.[1]
The building is designed in a V-shape, and architectural historian McKenzie Woodword asserts that the architects of the building "clearly had in mind Daniel Burnham's Flatiron Building" (in New York City).[1] The skyscraper's peculiar name dates back to the early nineteenth century, when shopkeeper Jacob Whitman mounted a ship's figurehead above his store. The figurehead, which came from the ship Sultan, depicted the head of an Ottoman warrior. Whitman's store was called "At the sign of the Turk's Head". The figurehead vanished in a storm and today a granite replica of the original Turk head is found on the building's 3rd floor façade[2].
After buying the building in 1997 for $4.2 million and spending $3 million renovating it, Brothers Evan and Lloyd Granoff sold the building in 2008 for $17.55 million to FB Capital Partners.[3] The Granoffs had not been actively trying to sell the building — the Granoff's attorney advisor said the Granoffs allowed the deal because the sum offered was well over the worth of the building.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Woodward, Wm McKenzie. "Guide to Providence Architecture. 1st ed. 2003: United States. ISBN 0-9742847-0-x. p81
- ^ Turk's Head Building. Emporis.com. Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
- ^ Grimaldi, Paul (2008-03-01). Turk’s Head Building sold. The Providence Journal. Retrieved on 2008-03-07.
[edit] External links
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