About Us:

Artist owned (RISD '96), and operated since 2002. Renovated and to code, Mill Building.

The Versailles ("Verse-I") building, 62-68 Dike St., Providence RI, 02909, was named after the famous French Chateau, and former home to Louis XIV + Marie Antoinette outside of Paris. Our version is about as polar opposite as you can get, and is a tongue-in-cheek attempt at poking fun at ourselves, and at Olneyville which historically hasn't had the most favorable reputation. However, in the last several years the area has turned around with many of the older buildings slowly being restored and is fast becoming the next Arts & Entertainment district of Providence.

Originally built in stages between 1919-1926 as an extension of the "Eagle Mill" directly behind us, this portion of the building became "Providence Combing Mills" and operated as such until 1954. Both "Eagle Mill", and its extension "Providence Combing Mill" were originally Textile mills. Over the years, both buildings slid into long periods of decline and neglect. At some point, the once united property was divided. Because the two properties still share a common wall, it's hard to tell where one property stops and the other starts. The only real way to distinguish the properties is that "The Versailles Building" fronts Dike St., from the corners of Agnes to Troy streets. "Eagle Mill" is directly behind us, and now operates as "50 Agnes St"". The Versailles Building is also the shorter section, while Eagle Mills is the taller section in the rear.

John Jensen, a native Californian was brought to the area to attend RISD. He and his wife Kristina bought the Providence Combing Mill section of the complex in 2002 and renamed it "Versailles". Today, Versailles is a little over 26,000 square feet, divided into 33 rental units spread across three floors.

Prior to owning "Versailles", John had numerous experiences as a working artist, with renting space in other RI mill buildings, none of which were ideal. His first space in Providence was part of the old artist collective at "The Foundry", before all of the artists were unceremoniously kicked out. From there, he ended up at the old "Silver Spring Center", where he was subject to massive roof leaks, damage to personal property, little to no working heat, break-ins, and once again kicked out when the building was sold with little warning to make way for the Charles St. Home Depot. Needless to say, John does not hold many landlords and property managers in high regards.

When John had the opportunity to purchase his own building, his goal was to create a place where the types of experiences he'd had in the past, would not happen to his tenants. A noble cause in theory, but truly no had had idea what they were getting into. The cost and scope involved in running and maintaining a 100 year old building was beyond comprehension, and many hard lessons had to be learned about many different types of people, including property managers, contractors, and sometimes crazy tenants. Shortly after purchasing the property, the aftermath of "The Station" fire in Warwick RI, led to the state enacting the strictest Fire Code in the country. It has been a sobering experience, but John, his wife Kristina and the rest of their dedicated crew have learned from experience the conflicts that comes with running a business, while also trying to balance their artistic and philosophical ideals. The goal in creating a place where people can thrive and create in a safe, contained atmosphere, without the usual downfalls associated with being a tenant have been proudly achieved to the best of everyone's ability.

"Versailles" is an old building and still has its quirks, but having risen from a state of near destruction, we are proud to offer fellow artists a much needed blend of function, while still maintaining some character. Too many other places in RI have become either too upscale, or unsafe, with little middle ground. In "Versailles" the owners have strived to create for thier tenants a balance of cleanliness, security and safety, while still maintaining the freedom to create and express themselves.

We are on a mission to provide, safe, clean and stable space to fellow artists. We invite you to check out what we've created, and we sincerely hope that you'll consider us for your space needs, and join us as a valuable member of the newly revitalized Olneyville community at large.