A group of artists turned a forgotten gap between two walls at Providence Place Mall into a secret apartment that existed for four years, leaving behind a dying mall and a community that never forgot the space.
Artist Michael Townsend had an affinity for overlooked spaces. From drainage tunnels to abandoned drive-ins, he lived in an old industrial neighborhood called Eagle Square where young artists made things together in cavernous former mill buildings.
In the late 1990s, as construction on the Providence Place Mall progressed across the highway from his home, Townsend discovered a peculiar gap between two walls with storage materials. The space was neither for storage, nor a store, nor part of the parking garage – it simply existed.
Source: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-03-22/-secret-mall-apartment-a-4-year-sojourn-in-a-providence-shopping-center