As contractors begin to clear the industrial site that we acquired for our new headquarters, they find that the land was filled with pieces of marble, ranging from massive blocks to small chunks. Research reveals that the marble found on our site dates back to the late 1890s, when the Norcross Brothers Company purchased the site and set up one of the largest mills in the U.S. on our very spot — to receive and cut the Georgia marble used to build the RI State House. (See the November 1898 Providence Journal of Commerce article.)
Determined to rescue and repurpose these pieces of Rhode Island history, we ask our contractors to set aside the large marble blocks and recruit volunteers to collect the smaller pieces. The two finest large blocks are reserved for a future art installation. Other large marble pieces serve as landscaping elements, some engraved in honor of individuals and entities.
