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All the United States Rhode Island Providence Turk's Head Building

Turk's Head Building

The stone sculpture of an Ottoman soldier is an homage to a lost Providence landmark.

Providence, Rhode Island

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John Meszaros
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The Turk’s Head adorning the third floor.   Johnmeszaros / Atlas Obscura User
  ickaimp / Atlas Obscura User
View of the Turk’s Head from the street below.   Johnmeszaros / Atlas Obscura User
Turk’s Head Building   blimpcaptain / Atlas Obscura User
Entrance to the building.   Johnmeszaros / Atlas Obscura User
A sculpted bas-relief decorating the building’s wall.   Johnmeszaros / Atlas Obscura User
The Turk’s Head building.   Johnmeszaros / Atlas Obscura User
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If you’re crossing the junction of Westminster and Weybosset Streets in downtown Providence, Rhode Island, look up at the wedge-shaped skyscraper that dominates the intersection. There, you’ll see the stern stone face of a turbaned 19th-century Ottoman soldier glowering down at you. 

The Turk’s Head, which gives the building its name, has its origins in the 1800s. Shopkeeper Jacob Whitman procured the wooden figurehead, which is shaped like an elite Turkish guard, from the merchant ship Sultan and hung it over the entrance to his store. The figure soon became a popular rendezvous point for locals and an iconic landmark of the city.

The wooden Turk’s Head was eventually lost to time, but in 1913 developers making plans to build a 16-story skyscraper on the site of Whitman’s former shop commissioned an Art Deco stone visage into their design to honor the original. The exterior of the building is also adorned with Deco-style bas reliefs of lions, seashells, flowers, and other forms.

Related Tags

Sculptures Architectural Oddities Art Deco Skyscrapers Architecture

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Added By

Johnmeszaros

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ickaimp, blimpcaptain

  • ickaimp
  • blimpcaptain

Published

October 1, 2019

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Sources
  • https://www.brown.edu/cis/sta/dev/providence_architecture/locations/downtown/turks_head_building/
  • http://www.strange-new-england.com/2015/10/22/turks-head/
Turk's Head Building
76 Westminster St
Providence, Rhode Island, 02903
United States
41.824646, -71.410089
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