MOTORS, HOISTS, CONTROLS, in northern Rhode Island.

Double courses of rusticated concrete blocks are interrupted by horizontal "stripes" of single courses of smooth concrete blocks.

 

It was wrong to paint the smooth blocks the same color as the rusticated blocks.

 

I suspect the building of having been built in the early 1930s, on the following basis:

 

• The 1911 Sanborn fire insurance map shows a smaller frame building on this site (at the time 57 Railroad St), identified as a blacksmith shop. The 1950 map shows the present concrete block building, now renumbered 179 Railroad St, labeled a private garage.

 

• In the 1930 Woonsocket city directory (accessed via ancestrylibrary.com) Archibald G. McCullough, blacksmith, is listed at this address. In the 1931 directory, the name changes to McCullough's Garage. It would make sense for the name change to match the construction of the new building. Regardless, starting with the 1934 directory, Miller's Taxi Service & Garage Inc is listed at this address — and doesn't the building look well-suited to being a taxi service and garage in the 1930s?

 

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In Woonsocket, Rhode Island, on April 23rd, 2025, was 179 Railroad St on the north side of Railroad Street, east of Arnold Street.

 

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Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names terms:

• Providence (county) (1002808)

• Woonsocket (2095214)

 

Art & Architecture Thesaurus terms:

• awnings (300254200)

• commercial buildings (300005147)

• concrete blocks (300374976)

• devices (equipment) (300417913)

• fading (300053048)

• garages (300007806)

• hoists (300022360)

• industrial buildings (300006231)

• infills (filled lacunae areas) (300264840)

• motors (300024609)

• paint (coating) (300015029)

• pale blue (300129645)

• parapets (300002717)

• red (color) (300311118)

• repair shops (300006410)

• roll-up doors (300002853)

• rustication (300080140)

• shop signs (300211862)

• spring (season) (300133097)

• storefronts (300002533)

• street addresses (300386983)

• stripes (300010230)

• telephone numbers (300435688)

 

Wikidata items:

• 23 April 2025 (Q69307515)

• 179 (Q735516)

• 1930s in architecture (Q16482516)

• April 23 (Q2527)

• April 2025 (Q61313057)

• Blackstone Valley (Q4923427)

• Boston-Worcester-Providence, MA-RI-NH Combined Statistical Area (Q123564318)

• Providence-Warwick, RI-MA Metropolitan Statistical Area (Q945854)

• rusticated concrete block (Q48795875)

• taxicab company (Q10691563)

 

Library of Congress Subject Headings:

• Concrete masonry (sh85030722)

Done