Edwin A. Smith Building Fallout Shelter - Providence, Rhode Island - Civil Defense Fallout Shelters on Waymarking.com

Built in 1912, the Edwin A. Smith Building in Providence, Rhode Island, bears a Fallout Shelter sign. The metal plaque is affixed to the building's Eddy Street façade at the far right (northwest) edge where it abuts the Aldrich Estate Building. Though far from pristine, it is free from rust and has retained its shape except for a horizontal edge-to-edge crease across the top and an outward bend and vertical ripple along the bottom quarter. The once-black portions are bare and the yellow now a dull ochre.

The posted capacity appears all but faded, the slightest visage of a numeral "2" is faintly present just below the letters "A-P". Combined with the floor plan and the presumption of 10 square feet per person, I would suppose the capacity was 200.

I located this public use shelter listed on pages 18 and 19 in the Rhode Island Statewide Planning Program publication, “Rhode Island Community Shelter Plan: Where to go…What to do…” (undated, but c. 1969-1973); Providence Inset A, Location 15, The Smith Building, 126 Union Street. The 40-page booklet includes a note from Governor Frank Licht, information and instructions, shelter allocation maps by city and town, an explanation of the maps, a family shelter checklist, home supplies, home shelter preparation guidelines, and a final page for general information.

A description of the property from the Providence-based real estate development company Cornish Associates:

The Smith Building is an eight story, brick-sheathed, steel frame structure with mid-century storefronts and a pier-and-spandrel system on the upper stories. The building was originally owned by Edwin A. Smith.

The ground floor is approximately 1,770 sf with an additional 2,014 sf of leasable basement space. An existing bar and entertainment venue located in the heart of downtown Providence on the first floor of a residential apartment building directly behind Providence’s City Hall. The ground floor has an existing bar and two bathrooms while the basement has an additional bar, bathroom, kitchen prep room (no hood or exhaust) and additional storage.

You can watch a video tour by Cornish Associates on YouTube. Though I am not certain that it served as the actual fallout shelter space, the basement is shown starting around timecode 02:00 minutes.

Capacity of shelter: 200 Radiation monitoring equipment: Not Listed

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