Located in the north end section of Providence called Wanskuck, Chad Brown is Providence’s first low-rent public housing project and the second oldest housing project in the state of Rhode Island. It was developed by the Providence Housing Authority and architect Maximilian Untersee in response to the New Deal legislation founded on the concept of aiding the poor with adequate housing. With monthly rents ranging from $17 to $42 in 1942, it gave preference to families of low-income defense and war workers.

The layout of the property consists of about 28 row houses spread out among the original 13 acres of land, later increased to 42 acres. The design plans originally showed 312 units (78 three-room units, 109 four-room, 109 five-room and 16 six-room units) but final construction in 1942 reveals that only 198 units were completed. Each row house is made up of several side-by-side two-story brick and concrete apartments. Bedrooms and bathrooms are located on the second floor with an open layout of the living room and kitchen on the first.

The grounds on the complex were neatly decorated with 325 trees, 1,784 shrubs, 836 hedge plants and 576 vines. There was a park and baseball field at the center of the apartments and benches lined sidewalks “where mothers [could] sit on warm afternoons and watch their children.” At the southern end would be the power house and administration building that had an “auditorium for movies, dancing and meetings” and a large recreation center with a cooking school for the community .

Bibliography:

Providence: A Citywide Survey, p. 161

–Providence’s Recent Past (2010), a PPS map by Ned Connors.

Last edited March 27, 2025 by Elisabeth Brown