CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT: A sculpture by RISD alum Chris Wolston takes up
residence under the stairs to the loft. Vintage Alvar Aalto stools provide seating
along the backside of the fourteen-foot soapstone island. The kitchen light
fixtures, by Allied Maker, reference the brass faucet and other kitchen hardware.
Opportunity Knocks
The idea of renovating a historic two-room, mixed-use building rather
than purchasing a ready-to-roll house built in this (or even the last)
century might not appeal to most people, but it appealed to Lindy
McDonough and Conor MacKean. In 2016, the couple was living in
an apartment on the South Side and poring through increasingly
expensive West Side real estate listings, looking for their first home.
Then up popped this place — in Pawtucket.
Known as the Fifth Ward Wardroom, the building was constructed
in 1886 and was named to the National Register of Historic Places in
1983. It was designed by William R. Walker and Son — the same
architects who designed the Westerly and Pawtucket armories and
the Majestic Theater (now home to Trinity Rep), to name a few — and
it was originally constructed as a polling place and meeting hall.
“We were going back and forth,” says McDonough. “Do we want to
live north? We moved to Providence to buy a home, but this one,
when we walked in, it felt like we could have a piece of architectural
significance.”
The scale and price were right, and its uniqueness was something
they likely couldn’t afford on the West Side. She, a designer, and he, an
engineer and a product designer, saw this property as an opportunity.
78 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l
MARCH 2020