By EMMA BARTLETT

The gazebo on the southwest corner of Rhodes Place and Broad Street has been a travel hub since 1880. From the days when horse drawn carriages and street cars carried individuals to Providence and Boston, to today’s children and adults waiting for the school bus or RIPTA, the gazebo has seen over a century of lives stand beneath it. Yet with natural wear and tear, comes time for refurbishing. The gazebo received a new paint job and sign and is part of restoration efforts to prepare Pawtuxet for the Gaspee Days 250th anniversary this summer.

Located next to the Scottish Rite Temple, the temple’s president, Mike Brito, was involved in the gazebo’s restoration process and explained in the past year they noted that the structure needed fixing; all repairs cost roughly seven to eight thousand dollars and was paid by the Shriners next door to the Scottish Rite.
The temple hired painters who maintained the gazebo’s traditional color schemes of green and white. Brito had them remove the Rhodes on the Pawtuxet sign from the top of the gazebo in hopes of refurbishing it himself. He eventually passed the task on to AA Thrifty Sign and Awning who created a new 21 foot long composite sign.
While removing the letters from the backboard, Brito found a short message scrawled on the back of the letter W. The words indicated that the sign was last refurbished in 1995 and gave the names of the individuals who assisted.

Some of the more historical elements of the gazebo include the simple Queen Anne detailing – such as the scrolled brackets and heavy-turned corner posts. Long ago, the gazebo had open railings, but those were removed due to vandalism. Brito noted how the gazebo has remained standing after all these years.
“My house was built in the 70s and is falling apart already,” said Brito, laughing.

As for future aspirations, the Scottish Rite Valley of Providence hopes to redo the gazebo’s concrete floor since there are cracks in it, and install railings which had traditionally been there but were removed after repeated vandalism. They would also like to add lights to the sign which would be lit from dusk until dawn.

Brito joined the Scottish Rite 10 years ago, following in his grandfather’s footsteps since he was also a member. The Scottish Rites is a part of freemasonry and consists of 32 degrees that can be achieved, with the 33rd degree as invitation only. A fraternal organization, the organization teaches core values of reverence, love of parents, purity, fidelity, courtesy and comradeship and patriotism.

The shriners have been involved in the Gaspee Day celebration since the beginning – from walking in the parade to inviting 5K runners into their facility to pick up their numbers before the race and their orange slices afterward. Gaspee Days is also with them year round, with a painting of the burning of the Gaspee overlooking their main corridor.

With the new gazebo, Brito hopes to eventually rededicate it to Thomas Yeaw who was a part of the organization for 15 years and passed away last month.

NOTE FROM THE 90s: Brito discovered a message on the back of the letter W from the original sign on top of the gazebo. It listed the names of the individuals who last refurbished the sign in 1995.

OFFICIALLY INSTALLED: The new Rhodes on the Pawtuxet sign sits on top of the gazebo.