PPS's Festival of Architecture & Design: Lightning Splitter & Wedding Cake

This program is part of Providence Preservation Society's Festival of Architecture and Design (Sep 26 - Oct 30, 2026). You can find !

We start this West End walk on Harrison Avenue with a visit inside one of the Lightning Splitter condos, designed by Providence architects Steve Durkee, Michael Viveiros, and Jeff Gordon in 1988, and regarded as one of the iconic projects of the postmodern period. Durkee will join us to share the history of the project and redevelopment on the West Side in the 1980s and 1990s (he lived in one of the condos for many years, and Viveiros lived in another), and the current homeowner will share about ongoing renovation work.

After a 30-minute stop, we head to the Wedding Cake House, a 10-minute walk, passing 3Six0 Architecture’s new Community MusicWorks building (2024) on the way. At the Wedding Cake House (1867), hear from PPS staff and the building’s owners, The Dirt Palace, about its history, its laborious rehabilitation from 2017 to 2020, and its current use as a creative hub for artist residencies and contemporary art exhibitions.

The tour includes a peek into all of the rooms and a trip up into the tower if you’re game where you can walk up three flights of stairs and look for the “extra staircase” installation by the famed local art duo Murry and Megan McMillian. Xander Marro and Pippi Zornoza, Dirt Palace Co-Directors, will talk about integrating art into the renovation as part of their 2019 Ruffles, Repair and Ritual exhibition, and will give guests a brief glimpse into their forthcoming exhibition Maintenance Schedule which examines the unglamorous labor of sustaining both physical infrastructure and culture.

Before The Dirt Palace purchased it and brought it back to life, the Wedding Cake House appeared on Providence Preservation Society’s Most Endangered Places List in 2010, 2012, 2015 and 2016.

Please note that both tours require the navigation of steep, narrow staircases.

All tickets are fully refundable up to seven days in advance of each program. After that, tickets are nonrefundable because we may not be able to sell the released tickets within a short timeframe. Thanks for your understanding!

Tickets: $40 General / $35 PPS Members