How You Can Help
After years of vacancy, the iconic Kendrick-Prentice-Tirocchi House (1867) is in dire need of repair and we need your help to secure its future. Even as the house is for sale, it continues to deteriorate. Your donation will go directly to the Providence Revolving Fund and be used to stabilize the tower, batten down the roof, reinforce the foundation, keep it secure, and maintain it until a new owner can be found. (Yes, it's for sale!)
It will take the community's support, in donations from $5 to $5,000, to preserve this community landmark. There are a wide variety of perks offered as our way of saying thank you. If you cannot support us with a donation, please help us get the word out by sharing this campaign on social media.
Give what you can to save this community landmark!
Who We Are
We are historic preservationists and we want to save this house! West Broadway Neighborhood Association and the Providence Preservation Society are raising funds for emergency stabilization work that is being done by the Providence Revolving Fund. We need your help to keep the house in good repair until a new owner is found.
The owner is ONE Neighborhood Builders. If you are interested in purchasing the house, contact them directly.
The Story
Built in a very elaborate Italianate style, the house is often referred to as the "Wedding Cake House" as it is Providence's consummate "gingerbread" house.
The Kendrick-Prentice-Tirocchi House was probably built and designed in 1867 by Broadway resident Perez Mason for John Kendrick, a manufacturer of loom harnesses. It became the home of buttonhook manufacturer and street-railway tycoon George W. Prentice in the early 1880s. The Tirocchi sisters lived here for much of the 20th-century and are the homes most significant occupants.
Anna Tirocchi and Laura Tirocchi Cella operated A. & L. Tirocchi, as a dress making shop, at 514 Broadway from 1915 to 1947, catering to wealthy clients, many of whom were wives and daughters of the newly successful industrialists from Providence and Fall River. The shop and its owners bridged three socio-cultural groups: their employees (from southern Italy), themselves (from near Rome), and their powerful and wealthy clients.
When Anna Tirocchi died in 1947, Laura Tirocchi Cella wrapped all the shop’s records in tissue paper and carefully put them away. These were not disturbed until 1989 when, upon inheriting the house Dr. Louis J. Cella Jr. invited curators from the RISD Museum to make their choice of objects for the Museum.
When curators entered the house, it was a time capsule from the 1920s and 1930s, as everything from the shop’s operation lay untouched for over 40 years. Such complete documentation of an historical dressmaking business exists nowhere else in the United States. The Tirocchi collection is an unparalleled resource for understanding many wide-ranging historical issues, including Italian immigration, women as workers and consumers, and the transition from hand production of garments to ready-to-wear clothing.
A Community Effort
After years of vacancy, the Providence Preservation Society included the house on its Most Endangered Properties list in 2010, again in 2012 and most recently in 2015. A large project such as this requires creativity and resources, and plans and owners have changed several times in the last 20+ years. It is currently owned by ONE Neighborhood Builders (a merged organization of CommunityWorks and Olneyville Housing Corporation) and is for sale.
The Providence Revolving Fund has asked West Broadway Neighborhood Association and Providence Preservation Society to raise funds from the community to match a grant from the 1772 Foundation to stabilize the tower and make other emergency repairs.
Providence-based artists Mark Freedman, Jason Bouchard, Jan Armor, Stephanie Alvarez-Ewans, Andre Brown and Deb Hickey have contributed artwork toward our fundraising effort. Check out the Gallery of Images for full descriptions of all artwork offered as Perks! Descriptions of the artists are below.
![]()
A painting by Mark Freedman, one of the various perks offered when you make a donation.
The Artists
Deb Hickey makes architectural portraits using a camera and prints her images on ink jet film which she then transfers to paper or board. Sometimes collage is included to add color or texture. She lives and works in the West Side neighborhood of Providence. Since moving here in 2003 she has loved the Kendrick-Prentice-Tirocchi house at 514 Broadway and can't wait to see what the future holds for this beautiful building. www.debhickey.com![Upload an Image]()
A painting by artwork by Deb Hickey 514 Broadway-Blue, one of the various perks offered when you make a donation.
Andre Brown: "I feel lucky to call the creatively inspiring West Side of Providence home, where I am continually energized by the sometimes raw landscape, sounds, objects and people. This fascination with historical decay and the promise of renewal, inspired me, in March, 2011, to document the interior and grounds of The Wedding Cake House after being granted a rare, all-access pass. Even after years of neglect and abandonment, Prentice Mansion still maintained a timeless sense of elegance and grace, giving clues to its prior owners. My photographic approach involves surveying and selecting subjects based mostly on color, weird juxtapositions, symbolism and whimsy. I’m constantly on the lookout for the absurd, and the humor that emerges from every day observations. More of my work can be viewed at www.thefunkyphotog.com."
Rhode Island artist Mark Freedman was once described as the "Edward Hopper of Providence, RI." Freedman has been painting evocative, industrial cityscapes primarily focused on the areas surrounding New York City and Providence, Rhode Island.
Jan Armor is a Providence-based artist specializing in fine art photography and education. She photographed the house for PPS's 2010 Most Endangered Properties Exhibit and has graciously lent us the cover image for the PreservePrenticePVD.org website. Learn more about www.armorphoto.com.
Stephanie Alvarez Ewans provided the photograph for the postcards we sent to over 700 households. She is a documentary photographer and visual journalist best known for her visual storytelling. Stephanie's passion comes from capturing the full range of human emotion through still photography, video, and recorded audio. Originally from California, Ewens has called Rhode Island home for the last eleven years. After completing a B.A. in Economics from Santa Clara University in 1999, she went on to study Photojournalism at San Francisco State University and most recently Documentary Photography at The Salt Institute for Documentary Studies in 2008. www.stephanieewens.com
A neighbor to the Prentice Mansion,
Jason Bouchard is a Providence-based artist, who was educated in Historic Preservation at Roger Williams University. His artwork is purely enjoyed as a hobby, but Prentice has remained a constant subject that has inspired numerous sketches, paintings, and photographs.