O'Gorman Building, Westminster Street, Providence

Originally published in March 2010. This version has been revised and republished in December 2025 for clarity, accuracy, and improved accessibility.

The O’Gorman Building on Westminster Street is one of Providence’s most quietly expressive historic commercial buildings. Constructed in 1925, it is best known for its stylized peacock ornamentation—an unusual and elegant detail that rewards anyone who pauses to look up while walking through the city’s downtown.

Architectural Details

As a fan of peacocks, the O'Gorman Building became one of my favorite buildings on Westminster Street the first time I saw it. 

Just above the O'Gorman sign, you may see a bird. Here's a closeup:

Behind the bird is a blue line that you follow up, up, up four stories, you see its crowning glory

A peacock tail!

That peacock decoration makes the O'Gorman Building especially notable. In its historic documentation, the Rhode Island Preservation and Heritage Commission described it as "exuberantly detailed." I have to agree. The first time I saw it, I was surprised and delighted. Now I point it out to visitors every time we pass by.

These peacock motifs are rare in Providence’s commercial architecture and give the building a sense of personality and symbolism. The peacock’s fan-like tail, worked into the facade above the windows, turns an otherwise modest structure into something quietly memorable.

The O'Gorman building was built in 1925 for Thomas O'Gorman (1860-1944), an Irish immigrant who left his thriving dry goods/grocery business to go into in real estate development. His office was here, as well as a clothing store, furniture store, and ladies' milliner (AIR).

From the National Register of Historic Places: "O’Gorman Building 1925: 6-story, brick-sheathed, steel-frame building with mid-20th-century storefronts; large plate-glass windows at second story with terra-cotta stringcourse above; upper stories resolved into window bays ornamented at bottom with stylized peacocks whose tails rise 3 stories to fan out at the top of the building. Built as an office building with 1st-floor shops, the O’Gorman Building has housed small commercial concerns and offices since 1925. The building’s exuberantly detailed facade adds variety to Westminster Street; its massing helps to define the scale of this block."

After sitting vacant for 35 years, Cornish Associates, with help from the Providence Revolving Fund and (PPSRF) Downcity Partnership, joined the O'Gorman building with the neighboring Burgess building and revitalized the structure.  The two buildings are now business space on the ground floor, with high-end apartments above.

Quick Facts

• Name: O’Gorman Building
• Location: Westminster Street, Providence, Rhode Island
• Year Built: 1925
• Notable Feature: Stylized peacock ornamentation
• Current Use: Ground-floor commercial with residential lofts above