Twelve years of research and documentation of the materials from the house at 514 Broadway culminated in an exhibition at the RISD Museum-
From Paris to Providence: Fashion, Art, and The Tirocchi Dressmakers Shop, 1915-1947. This website builds from the exhibition and allows you to uncover the secrets of the house:
514 Broadway tells the story of the Tirocchis and their family, and offers a new view of Italian immigration to Providence, the different worlds of clients and employees, European influence on art and fashion, and the operation of a small business in the first half of the century. Four databases provide access to the archival material. An online version of the exhibition is here as well as essays by scholars on fashion and social history. Curriculum materials help teachers introduce young people to the process of constructing history from primary sources.

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While the exhibition and the launch of this website represent the conclusion of one phase of the A & L Tirocchi Dressmakers Project, we view the project as ongoing. We would love to hear from you if you have any information to add, or comments about the materials contained here.

The RISD Museum wishes to express its gratitude to the son and grandsons of Laura Tirocchi Cella: Dr. Louis J. Cella, Jr., who first offered the contents of the A. & L. Tirocchi shop to the Museum in 1989, and his sons L. J. Cella III and Edward Cella of California. They have all closely followed the reconstruction of the shop's history, providing unstinting moral and financial support over the past ten years.

The exhibition, catalogue, and web site were made possible with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities, dedicated to expanding American understanding of history and culture; the RISD Museum and anonymous donors; the web site was developed with support from the Rhode Island Committee for the Humanities.