Westminster Street from Cathedral Square

Despite being designed by world class architects and urban planners, namely I.M. Pei and Zion & Breen, the space has been universally decried as an utter failure. Intended to be a marvelous piazza, inspired by European models, the forecourt for Providence’s most monumental and important church, the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul, the square never fulfilled its objective. Where European open spaces rely on activity generators to function, Cathedral Square remains largely empty. Additionally, construction of Cathedral Square and Weybosset Hill further isolated the downtown neighborhood from the west side by truncating Westminster Street.https://digitalcommons.ric.edu/smolski_images/1090/thumbnail.jp