Turk's Head - Providence, Rhode Island
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N 41° 49.487 W 071° 24.592
19T E 299867 N 4633130
The Turk's Head Building name comes from a prominent feature: a stone reproduction of an Ottoman warrior's head at the north side of the building.
Waymark Code: WM163PN
Location: Rhode Island, United States
Date Posted: 04/27/2022
Views: 2
When the Turk's Head Building was completed in 1913, the 16-story, 215 foot (66 m) office high-rise was the tallest in Providence, Rhode Island. Its name comes from a prominent feature: a stone reproduction of an Ottoman warrior's head at the north side of the building.
"The building is named for a shop sign displaying the head of a Turk, which was the figurehead of the ship "Sultan." A stylized replica carved in granite is found on the present building on the belt course between the third and fourth floors." (Source: Emporis)
The figure's fierce face peers down on Westminster and Weybosset Streets. Brow furrowed, eyes narrowed, and mouth slightly open, agog and draped by a long mustache, a turban with a cord and crescent tightly wraps his head. Flowing robe fabric gathers about his broad shoulders because his hands clutch the bottom of the frieze as if to pull himself up and out of the building.