Police Respond to Late-Night Breaking and Entering at Superman Building

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Thursday, February 07, 2019

GoLocalProv News Team and Kate Nagle

The Providence Police Department responded to a report of four individuals who broke into the Superman Building — the now-vacant Industrial National Bank Building — on Saturday night, GoLocalProv.com has learned.

According to the police report, on Saturday, February 2 at approximately 11:30 p.m., police were dispatched to 100 Westminster for a report of breaking and entering.

The person who made the complaint to the police said he was at the building to perform a walk-through inspection when he observed “four male subjects in the building” — and told them he was calling the police.

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The police arrived and identified the subjects (whose names were redacted in the police report) who stated to police [sic] “they were abandoned photographers and were taking pictures of the historical Superman Building.”

The Superman Building has been vacant for nearly six years.

Photo from drone showing damage to the Superman Building

An investigation by GoLocalProv that included drone footage shot of the exterior condition of the vacant Superman building released Wednesday raises questions about the state of Rhode Island’s tallest building. The footage shows hundreds of cracks, crevices, and chipping of the limestone exterior of the building. The decay appears to have dramatically increased over the past two-plus years.

SEE VIDEO HERE

One of the individuals caught in the building told police they entered through a “shattered window on the first level of the building.”

According to the police report, the person who reported the individuals told the police he did not want to press charges and would “speak with the owner of the building” the next day; he did ask for a report done “in case the owner wanted to pursue charges at a later time.”

Police "observed forcible entry through the side window located on the first floor.”

The building owners High Rock Development told GoLocal, "Late Saturday night our security personnel discovered that four males had broken a window and entered the building. Providence police were contacted and responded to the scene. We can’t recall a situation like this occurring previously and it is certainly not the norm. The building has a security presence 365 days a year - 24 hours a day."

High Rock would not respond to questions about why it did not press charges.

History of the Building

The website Save Superman cites, "In the book Buildings on Paper; Rhode Island Architectural Drawings 1845-1945 (1982), William Jordy and Christopher Monkhouse make note of the building’s site:

“Its size and unique shape make it readily identifiable from any angle. Its siting is masterful, for as Winston Weisman has observed, a building of this scale needs an “open parklike area of sufficient size to provide a vista”. Kennedy Plaza and Burnside Park furnish this necessary balance while maintaining an urban feeling.”

SEE PHOTOS BELOW

Photos Captured from Drone Footage of the Condition of the Superman Building - Feb, 2019

Photos from Drone Footage -- Beacon

Superman Building at 111 Westminster Street in Providence, RI

February, 2019

Photos from Drone Footage - Beacon in the Tower

Superman Building at 111 Westminster Street in Providence, RI

February, 2019

Photos from Drone Footage -- Decay of the Limestone Visible

Superman Building at 111 Westminster Street in Providence, RI

February, 2019

Photos from Drone Footage -- Landing Level Roof

Superman Building at 111 Westminster Street in Providence, RI

February, 2019

Photos from Drone Footage -- Roofs

Superman Building at 111 Westminster Street in Providence, RI

February, 2019

Photos from Drone Footage -- Condition of Facade Near Top

Superman Building at 111 Westminster Street in Providence, RI

February, 2019