Another result from the ebullient late 1970s rehabilitation of Atwells Avenue, De Pasquale Square, designed first by Albert Veri and later by Bradford Associates, was created by closing off a block of De Pasquale Avenue and introducing large, elaborate fountain in the center of the space. Like the rest of the revitalized Atwells Avenue, it’s a bit overdone, but it works exceptionally well urbanistically. The proof of its success as a space is both the advent of the restaurants lining both sides of the square after its creation and the capacity crowds it attracts in seasonable weather. Nowhere else in Providence or Rhode Island is there so successful an open urban space based on European models. Who wouldn’t want to linger in this delightful space?
– 2003 Guide to Providence Architecture
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