The Turk's Head Building is a 16-story office high-rise in

Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...

Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...

. Completed in 1913, the building is one of the oldest skyscrapers in Providence. Standing tall, it is currently the 11th-tallest building in Providence. When completed in 1913, the Turk's Head Building surpassed the 1901 Union Trust Company Building to become the tallest building in

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business distric ...

(the

Rhode Island State House The Rhode Island State House, the capitol of the state of Rhode Island, is located at 900 Smith Street just below the crest of Smith Hill, on the border of downtown in Providence. It is a neoclassical building designed by McKim, Mead & White wh ...

is taller and was finished in 1904). The building retained that title until 1922, when the

Providence Biltmore The Graduate Providence is an upscale hotel that opened in 1922 as the Providence Biltmore Hotel, part of the Bowman-Biltmore Hotels chain. It is located on the southern corner of Kennedy Plaza at 11 Dorrance Street in downtown Providence, Rhode I ...

was completed.Woodward, Wm McKenzie. "''Guide to Providence Architecture''. 1st ed. 2003: United States. . p. 81

History

The building is designed in a V-shape, and architectural historian William McKenzie Woodward asserts that the architects of the building "clearly had in mind Daniel Burnham's

Flatiron Building The Flatiron Building, originally the Fuller Building, is a triangular 22-story, steel-framed landmarked building at 175 Fifth Avenue in the eponymous Flatiron District neighborhood of the Boroughs of New York City, borough of Manhattan in New ...

" (in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

). 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 was lost in a storm, and today a stone replica is found on the building's 3rd floor façade. 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. The Granoffs had not been actively trying to sell the building — their attorney advisor said they accepted the deal because the sum offered was well over the worth of the building. The building was also featured in one of the scenes from the Disney movie ''

Underdog An underdog is a person or group in a competition, usually in sports and creative works, who is largely expected to lose. The party, team, or individual expected to win is called the favorite or top dog. In the case where an underdog wins, the ...

''.

Tenants

The building is known for the longevity of its tenants. It is home to at least two tenants which have operated in the building for over a century. The investment firm Brown, Lisle/Cummings Inc., and the law firm Gardner, Sawyer, Gates & Sloan both opened their doors in 1913 and kept offices in the building for a century. Gardner, Sawyer, Gates & Sloan is notable as the firm of Ada Lewis Sawyer, Rhode Island's first female lawyer. Attorney Timothy Conlon has gained nationwide representation for his work as a divorce lawyer and in litigation involving clergy sexual abuse.

Gallery

File:View down Westminster, 1892.jpg, The intersection of Weybosset and Westminster Streets in 1892, prior to the construction of the building File:Turk's Head Building.jpg, View of the building in the process of being built, 1912 File:Turk's Head Building Providence.jpg, The building's front facade in 2016 File:Turk's Head detail.jpg, The turbaned figurehead adorning the front of the building File:Turk's Head Building, rear.jpg, The building's rear, viewed from Westminster Street

References

External links

* * Skyscraper office buildings in Providence, Rhode Island 1913 establishments in Rhode Island Office buildings completed in 1913 {{ProvidenceRI-struct-stub