Rhode Island Tool Company building

Rhode Island Tool Company
Rhode Island Tool Company building is located in Rhode Island
Rhode Island Tool Company building
Rhode Island Tool Company building is located in the United States
Rhode Island Tool Company building
LocationProvidence, Rhode Island
Coordinates41°50′36″N 71°24′56″W / 41.84333°N 71.41556°W / 41.84333; -71.41556
Area5 acres (2.0 ha)
Built1853
NRHP reference No.04000808 [1]
Added to NRHPAugust 4, 2004

The Rhode Island Tool Company is a historic industrial property at 146-148 West River Street in Providence, Rhode Island. It is a 5-acre (2.0 ha) parcel located between West River Street and the channelized West River, on which stand two historic buildings. The main building of the complex is a sprawling agglomeration of attached structures, whose construction began in 1853, and whose surviving elements include six parts that predate the American Civil War. Construction of the complex was begun by the Providence Forge & Nut Company, which purchased the Providence Tool Company, and was the largest employer in Providence in the 1870s. The complex represents the best-preserved period metal-processing facility in Providence, and was the only drop-forging operation the state when it closed in 2003.[2]

The building has been repurposed as an office and technical space. It is now called the West River Center. [3]

The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.[1]

  1. ^ a b "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
  2. ^ "NRHP nomination for Rhode Island Tool Company" (PDF). Rhode Island Preservation. Retrieved 2014-10-27.
  3. ^ "Rhode Island Tool Company, Providence" (PDF). Preserve Rhode Island and Rhode Island Historical Preservation and Heritage Commission. Retrieved 2022-08-25.