Editor's Note: On April 12, 2022, state and local leaders along with building owner High Rock Development announced that a deal was in place to convert the building into 285 apartments at a cost of $220 million. Read the full update.

In the 1920s, Rhode Island’s capital, Providence, was roaring. Decades of successful industrial production, most notably textile manufacturing, had helped the city grow into a modern boomtown. It had streetcars, telephones, railroad connections, and large factories. It also had the Industrial Trust Company, founded in 1882, which had grown into one of the largest and most powerful banks in New England. Profits were expanding at a dramatic rate. By 1925, the company’s president and board chairman decided to invest its nearly $150 million in assets into a new headquarters, right in the center of the city.

That building would define Providence's skyline for the next nine decades. Today, however, its iconic place above the Providence River is endangered, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation has named it one of America's 11 Most Endangered Historic Places for 2019. The building has been vacant for six years, and multiple plans for use have fallen through. The tower, affectionately called the "Superman Building" by locals, could use a hero.

The Industrial Trust Company hired the architecture firm Walker & Gillette to construct the massive tower. The forward-thinking firm collaborated with local architect George Frederick Hall, envisioning the building in the style of the times—a thoroughly modern aesthetic that would later be called Art Deco. The style had recently exploded onto the international scene, spurred by a 1925 exhibition in Paris that displayed unique art, design, and architecture to more than 16 million visitors.

"It was really this monumental statement saying, 'Providence is on its way,'" says Brent Runyon, executive director of the Providence Preservation Society. "Unfortunately, it was the last thing that was built that said that for a long time." The stock market crashed just a year later in October of 1929, ushering in the Great Depression. Providence’s industrial power was sapped by new, non-union manufacturing in the South, a devastating 1938 hurricane, and the lasting effects of the Depression; tens of thousands of workers lost their jobs.

Despite the downturn, the Industrial Trust Company survived—and so did its building. A series of mergers ensured that it remained a regionally powerful bank for decades. In 1982, the conglomerate changed its name to Fleet Financial Group, and in 2004, the bank was absorbed entirely by Bank of America. Four years later, right before the Great Recession began, the building was sold to High Rock Development for $33 million. Bank of America remained the sole tenant. Then, in 2013, its lease ended, and it moved out.

Since Bank of America’s departure six years ago, the building has been vacant. The iconic green lantern that glowed almost continuously since 1928 is dark. The limestone facade is damaged. It’s in serious danger of demolition by neglect.

But Runyon stresses that despite the need for upgrades, the building could easily be reused. "It’s not an abandoned building by any means," he says. "It is structurally sound. It has a functioning heating system and plumbing and electrical. As far as I know, the roofs are all in place and not leaking. The windows are holding the weather out."

Still, he continues, it needs upgrades before another major company would want to move in. "It needs some creative ideas, and of course, money," he says. "It requires quite a large subsidy to close the gap." But because Rhode Island is phasing out its state historic tax credit, securing that subsidy is a challenge. "We are just advocating to state leaders to make the investment, as they do in so many buildings, both preservation projects and new construction," Runyon explains. "We're advocating that that they should give the same—or even more—consideration to subsidies for the Industrial Trust Building, because it is such an icon."

Providence is no longer the boomtown it was 90 years ago, but it’s full of locals who see the Industrial Trust Building as a crucial part of the skyline. They’re proud of its place in the city’s downtown, and they’re keeping the faith; Instagram is full of pictures of the building tagged with #savesupermanri, a hashtag encouraged by the Save Superman campaign.