Providence Preservation Society's 2026 Annual Meeting

Note: this event was rescheduled from January 29 to February 24 due to road, parking and sidewalk conditions following the storm.

Please join us for PPS's Annual Meeting, where we will report on the organization's activities in 2025, give a preview of what is to come in 2026 and elect new board members. The event will be held this year at Gospel Tabernacle Outreach Ministries in Smith Hill at 145 Oakland Avenue, in the Oakland Avenue Historic District. This is a National Register district that was created in 1984 and consists primarily of multi-family and triple-decker housing built in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to house the neighborhood's growing industrial workforce during this period of the city's expansion.

The afternoon begins with an optional tour of the church, designed by the local modern architect Domenic Thomas Russillo in 1954. The brick building was built a Conservative Jewish synagogue and it still includes many elements of the original design. This event is free but registration is required. After conclusion of the business portion of the meeting, there will be an opportunity to hear more about the history of the church and the Smith Hill neighborhood before the presentation of PPS’s 2026 Most Endangered Places List.

Annual Meeting Program

3:30 – 4pm: *Optional* Tour of Gospel Tabernacle Ministries with church leadership.
4 – 4:45pm: Annual Meeting Welcome, Executive Director’s Report on 2025, Treasurer’s Report, Election of New Board Members, and Look-Ahead to 2026.

4:45 – 5pm: Remarks on the past, present and future of Gospel Tabernacle Ministries (Elder Fran Hayes) and Smith Hill (City Councilor Althea Graves).
5 – 5:20pm: Smith Hill: Reflections on History, Community and Place, Keith Morton.

5:20 – 5:50pm: Presentation of PPS’s 2026 Most Endangered Places List and Meeting Close.

Tuesday, February 24 // 4 - 6pm
Gospel Tabernacle Outreach Ministries
145 Oakland Avenue, Providence
There is plentiful street parking in the vicinity of the church. The church has a dedicated parking lot with eight spaces for those with mobility issues that are available on a first-come basis. To reserve a spot, please write to Allison Hernandez at [email protected]. We are working to secure another parking lot for use of guests that evening and will share that information closer to the event.

Please note that the church’s fellowship hall is located below ground level and is served by a staircase with ten steps, and that the 3:30pm optional tour of the church involves navigating two sets of staircases.

A reception will be held for guests at a separate location following the close of the meeting — that meeting will be shared with all registrants!

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Host or Publisher Providence Preservation Society