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pyat"I shall find mixed with my relief a queer regret when it is torn down to make way for a tawdry shop or vulgar apartment building. The barren old trees in the yard have begun to bear small, sweet apples, and last year the birds nested in their gnarled boughs."
- The Shunned House
Having addressed our primary reason for visiting Providence, we were free to wander more or less at will. I had identified a handful of interesting sites to visit within an easy walk of downtown Providence, so there we ventured.
Our first stop was the Westminster Arcade, the oldest enclosed shopping mall in North America. In most places, the "oldest enclosed mall" would be some run-down strip mall constructed in the early 1960s, home to a coffee shop and not much else. In Providence, "old" means "Built in 1828."
Unfortunately, though the 179-year-old Westminter Arcade was a pleasant building and interesting to explore, it also contained mostly empty storefronts. Alex and I were very nearly the only shoppers on Saturday afternoon. Significantly, the only store showing any particular sign of life was the one that sold RPGs...
The interior of the Arcade. Note - zero pedestrians. This was on Saturday afternoon in downtown Providence.
Alex outside The Game Keeper. There were four or five people playing a German board game inside. The owner, Larry, chatted with us for quite some time. I mentioned that I'd just started working for Lion Rampant, and was surprised to hear that he knows my new boss fairly well.
Larry apologized for the disorganized state of the store, and the lack of selection. He explained that he's leaving the Westminster Arcade at the end of the year.
Our next stop was "The Shunned House," a real house built in 1786 that served as the inspiration for a Lovecraft story of the same name. The real world house had a bad reputation in the 19th century, it seems, with tales of madness and death surrounding the early inhabitants. However, since that time it has apparently been quite respectable.
Contrary to the expectations of Lovecraft's hero, the house (or rather the real world inspiration for the fictional house) still stands. In fact, it is a very pleasant place built into the side of a hill, and in a very attractive neighbourhood. There is no marker to note the significance of this place in pulp horror.
The Shunned House
Curious signage on the garden gate of the Shunned House.
Following this visit, we stopped for sandwiches at an excellent little place full of cool, exciting university students, free newspapers, music, and a barrel of fresh dill pickles. There were dozens of sandwiches on the menu, all excellent - including one called the "Margaret Trudeau." We then went for a walk around the downtown core.
Nom nom nom!
"You must be this tall to be eaten by Deep Ones"
A hill! Of some kind.
Art Deco skyscraper
Walking into the Sun.
As we walked, Alex caught sight of a very distinctive house that he recognized from the 2005 silent film production of The Call of Cthulhu.
As the sun set, we returned to the car and set our sights on ancient Newport, surrounded on three sides by ocean. We arrived there just night was setting in... more on that, later!
- The Shunned House
Having addressed our primary reason for visiting Providence, we were free to wander more or less at will. I had identified a handful of interesting sites to visit within an easy walk of downtown Providence, so there we ventured.
Our first stop was the Westminster Arcade, the oldest enclosed shopping mall in North America. In most places, the "oldest enclosed mall" would be some run-down strip mall constructed in the early 1960s, home to a coffee shop and not much else. In Providence, "old" means "Built in 1828."
Unfortunately, though the 179-year-old Westminter Arcade was a pleasant building and interesting to explore, it also contained mostly empty storefronts. Alex and I were very nearly the only shoppers on Saturday afternoon. Significantly, the only store showing any particular sign of life was the one that sold RPGs...
The interior of the Arcade. Note - zero pedestrians. This was on Saturday afternoon in downtown Providence.
Alex outside The Game Keeper. There were four or five people playing a German board game inside. The owner, Larry, chatted with us for quite some time. I mentioned that I'd just started working for Lion Rampant, and was surprised to hear that he knows my new boss fairly well.
Larry apologized for the disorganized state of the store, and the lack of selection. He explained that he's leaving the Westminster Arcade at the end of the year.
Our next stop was "The Shunned House," a real house built in 1786 that served as the inspiration for a Lovecraft story of the same name. The real world house had a bad reputation in the 19th century, it seems, with tales of madness and death surrounding the early inhabitants. However, since that time it has apparently been quite respectable.
Contrary to the expectations of Lovecraft's hero, the house (or rather the real world inspiration for the fictional house) still stands. In fact, it is a very pleasant place built into the side of a hill, and in a very attractive neighbourhood. There is no marker to note the significance of this place in pulp horror.
The Shunned House
Curious signage on the garden gate of the Shunned House.
Following this visit, we stopped for sandwiches at an excellent little place full of cool, exciting university students, free newspapers, music, and a barrel of fresh dill pickles. There were dozens of sandwiches on the menu, all excellent - including one called the "Margaret Trudeau." We then went for a walk around the downtown core.
Nom nom nom!
"You must be this tall to be eaten by Deep Ones"
A hill! Of some kind.
Art Deco skyscraper
Walking into the Sun.
As we walked, Alex caught sight of a very distinctive house that he recognized from the 2005 silent film production of The Call of Cthulhu.
As the sun set, we returned to the car and set our sights on ancient Newport, surrounded on three sides by ocean. We arrived there just night was setting in... more on that, later!
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Date: 2007-11-13 02:27 am (UTC)no subject
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Date: 2007-11-13 04:11 am (UTC)