Perhaps two of the most iconic landmarks to ever grace Rhode Island. Photo courtesy of Joshua Patenaude.
A Smithfield man is memorializing long-lost Ocean State icons with a nostalgic graveyard in his front yard, just in time for Halloween.
The first gravestone was for Benny’s (R.I.P.), complete with the swirling red script that served as its logo since 1924. That was in 2021. Now Joshua Patenaude has nine such tablets in his yard, paying homage to lost institutions like Rocky Point and Ann & Hope.
“I thought it was a cool way to pay respects in a creative way that hopefully everyone else could enjoy,” he says.
It takes him about three to four hours to craft a stone, from start to finish, from drawing out the logo, carving the foam tablets with a hot knife and painting on details. The building engineer has always been artistic, so it’s relatively easy for him to sketch out strikingly similar logos to the ones once seen on myriad Almacs and Blockbuster stores. He was young when it was still open, but he fondly remembers Rocky Point Park and riding on the Corkscrew and the Skyliner.
Rocky_Point
Almost thirty years on, Rhode Islanders are still mourning the loss of the Corkscrew, Rocky the Lobster, clamcakes and chowder and the Musik Express. R.I.P. indeed. Photo courtesy of Joshua Patenaude.
Almost thirty years on, Rhode Islanders are still mourning the loss of the Corkscrew, Rocky the Lobster, clamcakes and chowder and the Musik Express. R.I.P. indeed. Photo courtesy of Joshua Patenaude.
This one still stings. Where else could one get a bike, a wrench, a board game, Christmas decorations, a rake and a sled all at once? Photo courtesy of Joshua Patenaude.
This one still stings. Where else could one get a bike, a wrench, a board game, Christmas decorations, a rake and a sled all at once? Photo courtesy of Joshua Patenaude.
What Benny's said. But with more home decor. Photo courtesy of Joshua Patenaude.
ToysRUs
Geoffrey, we'll always be Toys R Us kids. Photo courtesy of Joshua Patenaude.
Radio_Shack
Selling electric tchotchkes for almost 100 years. Photo courtesy of Joshua Patenaude.
Sears
Anyone need an oil change? A prom dress? A fridge? Photo courtesy of Joshua Patenaude.
Blockbuster
Oh, Blockbuster, the bastion of many a Friday and Saturday night browse-fest. Technically, the chain is still around — there's one store left in Bend, Oregon, if you have a burning desire to rent a copy of "Dumb and Dumber." Don't forget to be kind and rewind. Photo courtesy of Joshua Patenaude.
Oh, Blockbuster, the bastion of many a Friday and Saturday night browse-fest. Technically, the chain is still around — there's one store left in Bend, Oregon, if you have a burning desire to rent a copy of "Dumb and Dumber." Don't forget to be kind and rewind. Photo courtesy of Joshua Patenaude.
He’s always getting suggestions for gravestones, but his newest design might just be the most bittersweet: the PawSox, who left Pawtucket and McCoy Stadium behind when the team moved to Worcester, Massachusetts, after the 2020 season.
“It pulls at a lot of heartstrings,” he says. “These are places we grew up with and enjoyed.”
