Graduate Providence | Biltmore Hotel in Rhode Island

The Graduate Providence, which opened in 1922 as the Providence Biltmore, is a luxury hotel located in downtown Providence, Rhode Island. The hotel was renovated and reopened in 2019 as the Graduate Providence, and like their other boutique hotels in college towns across the U.S., they've brought their signature quirks, style, and upscale design to this historic property. 

From bold prints and patterns to brass and gold finishes, the updated design of the Graduate Providence is the perfect blend of trendy and traditional. 

There are a lot of memorable touches hiding in plain sight, like a sign on the (no longer working) glass elevator from a renovation in the seventies that now says "use for time travel only". A modern bank of elevators has since replaced the glass one, but the comedic nod is just enough encouragement to make you take a closer look at all the details.

What can't be missed is the "Mutt Cutts" van from Dumb and Dumber parked directly out front of the hotel. The cross country road trip in the 1994 movie kicks off in Providence, making for the perfect Rhode Island photo op. It was working too, everyone walking by had their phones ready.

While a drive through Rhode Island is short, the Graduate Providence is worth the overnight. 

Epic Adventures in the Northeast USA

Over 5500 miles covered, 10K+ images shot, and some incredible sights marked another successful series of travel shoots as I explored the Northeast United States over the last two weeks. While this road trip did have some overlap with previous shoots, all totaled I spent time in 14 states. In fact, I filled in the last few gaps I had on the map - meaning I've now shot photography and video (in varying capacities) in all 50 states + the District of Columbia.

Highlights included a pretty diverse range of activities - from exploring ships in Baltimore to beaches in Cape Cod to driving back roads in Vermont to walking the entire National Mall in Washington D.C. This ended up being one of my most ambitious road trips to date, not because of the distance or driving required, but instead because I had to have a bit more strategy to cover one of the most populated and expensive parts of the USA effectively.

Traffic was always going to be an issue in this part of the country, and knowing that I'd be staying in a different city every night meant navigating a lot of busy streets. I always try to give myself windows to catch up if things don't go to plan, but my biggest worry was getting stuck / wasting time in traffic jams in some of America's largest cities.  

Amazingly, my timing seemed to work out in avoiding most rush hours and the buffers I gave myself actually allowed me to cover more places when I ended up ahead of schedule. All of the experience I gained planning elaborate shoots like this over the last few years really seemed to come in handy this time. I'm just as willing to admit that I lucked out though.

There's no question, as much fun as it was, this series of travel shoots in the Northeast was really challenging to orchestrate. That's just made me more excited to share it now. Stay tuned for more additions to my Middle America series in the weeks ahead!