The People Behind Preservation: The Wedding Cake House

Adler’s teamed up with Dirt Palace and the Providence Preservation Society to bring the Wedding Cake House back to life.

In this second video featuring the historical Wedding Cake House of Providence, RI, we explore more about the actual preservation and get a glimpse of the people behind all the hard work.

The Wedding Cake House was first constructed in 1867, and over the decades it went through a series of three owners before it started to decline in the early 90’s. The Providence landmark had been vacant for about 20 years before Dirt Palace public projects decided they were going to take on the enormous task of renovating it.

“I think a lot of people were excited that it was happening, but kind of skeptical or saw us as underdogs”, said Xander Marro, Co-founder of Dirt Palace. “Harry Adler was one of the first people who stepped in and said, I want to help see this building be renovated”.

With help from Harry Adler, Co-owner of Adler’s Design Center & Hardware, Brent Runyon and the Providence Preservation Society (PPS), and over 50 local artists commissioned by the Andy Warhol Foundation, the preservation of this iconic property was definitely in good and creative hands!

Preservation of an 154 year old building is different than your typical home renovation. So much of the thought process has to include what to preserve, how much of it to preserve, how to restore it, maybe not to restore it. And of course unexpected scenarios you can’t plan for either. Brent Runyon, Executive Director of the PPS said, “I think that just makes preservation so meaningful because you, it's not just about the building, it's the people that are working in the building”.

As a local business that’s been around for 102 years, Adler’s strongly believes being apart of preserving our community’s history is just as important as running our own business. "I feel like if you're going to have a business in a city and there's a property that helps define the city and you can help keep that where it is, that's above and beyond running a business. And it makes you really more integral to the community, which for me, is the best part of the house is just being part of an amazing community of artists, tradespeople and visionary women”, said Harry.

Watch the video to learn more about the Wedding Cake House and the people who helped bring it back to life.