History Of Providence, Rhode Island
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The
Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...
city of Providence has a nearly 400-year history integral to that of the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, including significance in the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
by providing leadership and fighting strength, quartering troops, and supplying goods to residents by circumventing the blockade of Newport. The city is also noted for the first bloodshed of the American Revolution in the ''Gaspée'' Affair. Additionally, Providence is notable for economic shifts, moving from trading to manufacturing. The decline of manufacturing devastated the city during the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
, but the city eventually attained economic recovery through investment of public funds.


Founding and colonial era

Providence was settled in June 1636 by
Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...
theologian
Roger Williams Roger Williams (March 1683) was an English-born New England minister, theologian, author, and founder of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Pl ...
and grew into one of the original
Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies were the British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America which broke away from the British Crown in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and joined to form the United States of America. The Thirteen C ...
. As a minister in the
Massachusetts Bay Colony The Massachusetts Bay Colony (1628–1691), more formally the Colony of Massachusetts Bay, was an English settlement on the east coast of North America around Massachusetts Bay, one of the several colonies later reorganized as the Province of M ...
, Williams had advocated the
separation of church and state The separation of church and state is a philosophical and Jurisprudence, jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the State (polity), state. Conceptually, the term refers to ...
and condemned colonists' confiscation of land from Native Americans. He was convicted of sedition and heresy and banished from the colony. Williams and others established a settlement in Rumford, Rhode Island in 1636 on land given to them by the
Wampanoag The Wampanoag, also rendered Wôpanâak, are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of the Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Northeastern Woodlands currently based in southeastern Massachusetts and forme ...
. Soon after settling, the
Plymouth Colony Plymouth Colony (sometimes spelled Plimouth) was the first permanent English colony in New England from 1620 and the third permanent English colony in America, after Newfoundland and the Jamestown Colony. It was settled by the passengers on t ...
warned Williams that he had still not left the bounds of the colony. In response, the group moved down the
Seekonk River The Seekonk River is a tidal extension of the Providence River in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows approximately 5 km (3 mi). The name may be derived from an Algonquian word for skunk or for black goose. The river is home to ...
, around the point now known as Fox Point and up the Providence River to the confluence of the a Moshassuck and Woonasquatucket Rivers. Here they established a new settlement they termed "
Providence Plantations Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Island S ...
," cultivating the community as a refuge for religious dissenters. For the land, Williams reached a verbal agreement with the
sachem Sachems and sagamores are paramount chiefs among the Algonquians or other Native American tribes of northeastern North America, including the Iroquois. The two words are anglicizations of cognate terms (c. 1622) from different Eastern Alg ...
s
Canonicus Canonicus (c. 1565 – June 4, 1647) was a chief of the Narragansett people. He was wary of the colonial settlers, but he ultimately befriended Roger Williams and other settlers. Biography Canonicus was born around 1565,Benjamin J. Lossing ...
and
Miantonomo Miantonomoh (1600? – August 1643), also spelled Miantonomo, Miantonomah or Miantonomi, was a chief of the Narragansett people of New England Indians. Biography He was a nephew of the Narragansett grand sachem, Canonicus (died 1647), with who ...
—leaders of the indigenous Narragansett inhabitants. This agreement was later formalized in a deed dated March 24, 1638. Unlike Salem and Boston, Providence lacked a royal charter. The settlers thus organized themselves, allotting tracts on the eastern side of the Providence River in 1638. Roughly six acres each, these home lots extended from Towne Street (now South Main Street) up the cities eastern hill to Hope Street. The portion of land between Towne Street and the eastern bank of the Providence River was held in common. The settlement lacked an official religion; no church building was erected in the town until the 18th century. In the absence of a church, the settlers congregated for religious and civil purposes on the common land adjacent to Roger Williams' home lot and later in the 1646 mill built by John Smith. Over the following two decades, Providence Plantations grew into a self sufficient agricultural and fishing settlement, though its lands were difficult to farm and its borders were disputed with Connecticut and Massachusetts. During this period, the original temporary log dwellings built by the first settlers gave way to new clapboard stone-end houses with gabled roofs. An Indian coalition burned Providence to the ground on March 29, 1676, during
King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1678 between a group of indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodland ...
, making it one of two major Colonial settlements burned. The only two houses known to have survived the fire are the William Field House and Roger Mowry Tavern, both of which have since been demolished. After the town was rebuilt, the economy expanded into more industrial and commercial activity. The outer lands of Providence Plantation extending to the Massachusetts and Connecticut borders were incorporated as Scituate,
Glocester Glocester, otherwise officially called the Town of Glocester, Rhode Island, is a New England town, town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 9,974 as of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census. The villages o ...
, and
Smithfield, Rhode Island Smithfield is a town in Providence County, Rhode Island, United States. The population was 22,118 at the 2020 census. Incorporated in 1731, it includes the historic villages of Esmond, Georgiaville, Mountaindale, Spragueville, Stillwater, an ...
, in 1731. Later, Cranston, Johnston, and North Providence were also carved out of Providence's ''municipal territory.'' In 1700, the first church building was erected in the city—a Baptist church on the corner of Smith and North Main Streets. Colonial administrators in Providence banned the enslavement of black people and Native Americans in 1652 and 1676, respectively. In 1703, the Rhode Island General Assembly overruled the municipal statutes and legalized black and Native slavery throughout the colony. Merchants in Providence supplied sugar plantations in the
West Indies The West Indies is an island subregion of the Americas, surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea, which comprises 13 independent island country, island countries and 19 dependent territory, dependencies in thr ...
with slaves, livestock, dairy products, fish, candles and lumber, and received molasses for rum. The trade particularly flourished after 1730, helping to establish the city as a major port. In 1755, enslaved people accounted for 8 percent of Providence's population At the time, enslaved people made up 10% of Rhode Island's population, with higher concentrations in Newport and Narragansett Country, while enslaved population averaged 5% for the northern colonies. By the 1760s, the population of the city's urban core reached 4,000. In 1770,
Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...
moved to Providence from nearby
Warren Warren most commonly refers to: * Warren (burrow), a network dug by rabbits * Warren (name), a given name and a surname, including lists of persons so named Warren may also refer to: Places Australia * Warren (biogeographic region) * War ...
. At the time, the college was known as Rhode Island College and occupied a single building on College Hill. The college's choice to relocate to Providence as opposed to Newport symbolized a larger shift away from the latter city's commercial and political dominance over the colony.


American Revolution

In 1776, Providence recorded a population of 4,321. During the 1770s, the British government levied taxes that impeded Providence's maritime, fishing, and agricultural industries, the mainstays of the city's economy. One example was the
Sugar Act The Sugar Act 1764 or Sugar Act 1763 ( 4 Geo. 3. c. 15), also known as the American Revenue Act 1764 or the American Duties Act, was a revenue-raising act passed by the Parliament of Great Britain on 5 April 1764. The preamble to the act stat ...
, which affected Providence's distilleries and its trade in rum. These taxes and other official acts of the British crown caused the
Colony of Rhode Island The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was an English colony on the eastern coast of America, founded in 1636 by Puritan minister Roger Williams after his exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It became a haven for religious d ...
to renounce allegiance to Britain—the first of the
Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies were the British colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America which broke away from the British Crown in the American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), and joined to form the United States of America. The Thirteen C ...
to do so. Providence residents were also among the first to spill blood in the
American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...
during the Gaspée Affair in 1772, an act of open defiance that preceded the more famous
Boston Tea Party The Boston Tea Party was a seminal American protest, political and Mercantilism, mercantile protest on December 16, 1773, during the American Revolution. Initiated by Sons of Liberty activists in Boston in Province of Massachusetts Bay, colo ...
by more than a year. Providence escaped British occupation during the
American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
, although the British captured Newport and imposed a blockade that devastated the island's economy. During the war, American troops were quartered in Providence.
Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...
's University Hall was used as a barracks and military hospital for American soldiers, while French troops were quartered in the city's
Market House A market house or market hall is a covered space historically used as a marketplace to exchange goods and services such as provisions or livestock, sometimes combined with spaces for public or civic functions on the upper floors and often with a ...
.


Late 18th and Early 19th Centuries


Economic and demographic shifts

During the late 18th and early 19th century, the city became a center of the lucrative China Trade. Between 1789 and 1841, Providence was one of America's major ports trading directly with China. During this era, three of the seven US consuls to China came from Providence. Exchange with Canton and the
East Indies The East Indies (or simply the Indies) is a term used in historical narratives of the Age of Discovery. The ''Indies'' broadly referred to various lands in Eastern world, the East or the Eastern Hemisphere, particularly the islands and mainl ...
benefited Providence merchants immensely. With their newly accrued wealth, many members of this merchant class constructed large mansions on College Hill; among these homes are the
Nightingale–Brown House The Nightingale–Brown House is a historic house at 357 Benefit Street on College Hill Historic District (Providence, Rhode Island), College Hill in Providence, Rhode Island. It is home to the John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities ...
(1792) and Corliss–Carrington House (1812). After 1830, Providence's trade shifted to Canada, which supplied the rapidly industrializing city with coal and lumber. During the early 19th century, the economy began to shift from maritime endeavors to manufacturing—particularly machinery, tools, silverware, jewelry, and textiles. At one time, Providence boasted some of the largest manufacturing plants in the country, including
Brown & Sharpe Brown & Sharpe is a division of Hexagon AB, a Sweden, Swedish multinational corporation focused mainly on metrology, metrological tools and technology. During the 19th and 20th centuries, Brown & Sharpe was one of the best-known and most influentia ...
, Nicholson File, and
Gorham Manufacturing Company The Gorham Manufacturing Company was one of the largest American manufacturers of sterling and silverplate and a foundry for bronze sculpture. History Gorham Silver was founded in 1831 in Providence, Rhode Island by Jabez Gorham, a master cr ...
. The city's industries attracted many immigrants from Ireland, Germany, Sweden, England, Italy, Portugal, Cape Verde, and French Canada. These economic and demographic shifts caused social strife.
Hard Scrabble and Snow Town Hard Scrabble (Addison Hollow) and Snow Town were two neighborhoods located in Providence, Rhode Island in the nineteenth century. They were the sites of race riots in which working-class white residents destroyed multiple black homes and busi ...
were the sites of race riots in 1824 and 1831. Providence residents ratified a city charter in 1831 as the population passed 17,000.


Seat of government

The city government was housed in the
Market House A market house or market hall is a covered space historically used as a marketplace to exchange goods and services such as provisions or livestock, sometimes combined with spaces for public or civic functions on the upper floors and often with a ...
from its incorporation as a city in 1832 until 1878. Market House is located in
Market Square A market square (also known as a market place) is an urban square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world. A market square is an open area where market stalls are tradit ...
, which was the geographic and social center of the city. The city offices quickly outgrew this building, and the City Council resolved to create a permanent municipal building in 1845. The city spent the next 30 years searching for a suitable location, resulting in what one historian calls "Providence's Thirty Years War," as the council bickered over where to situate the new building. The city offices moved into the
Providence City Hall Providence City Hall is the center of the municipal government in Providence, Rhode Island. It is located at the southwest end of Kennedy Plaza at 25 Dorrance Street in Providence. The building was constructed between 1875 and 1878, and designed ...
in 1878.


Jewelry industry

During 19th and 20th centuries, the manufacturing of jewelry and costume jewelry emerged as a dominant local industry. Jewelry manufacturing began in Providence in 1794, and by 1880 Rhode Island's jewelry industry accounted for more than one quarter of the entire national jewelry production. By 1890, the city was home to 200 jewelry firms employing 7,000 workers. During the 1960s, jewelry trade magazines referred to Providence as "the jewelry capital of the world." The industry peaked in 1978 with 32,500 workers, then began a swift decline. By 1996, the number of jewelry workers shrank to 13,500. During the following decades, the large jewelry factories that had once dominated the city's Jewelry District were closed or vacated. Many of these buildings have since been renovated and repurposed for commercial, retail, residential, and educational use, mirroring the city's broader shift from a manufacturing to service economy.


Late 19th Century


Growth

Providence experienced considerable growth during the late 1800s, with immigrants increasing the population from 54,595 in 1865 to 175,597 by 1900. In 1871, Betsey Williams, the last descendant of
Roger Williams Roger Williams (March 1683) was an English-born New England minister, theologian, author, and founder of the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Providence Plantations, which became the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Pl ...
, bequeathed 102 acres of land to the city for the development of
Roger Williams Park Roger Williams Park is an elaborately landscaped city park in Providence, Rhode Island and a historic district (United States), historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The park is named after Roger Williams, the ...
. The elaborately landscaped grounds were designed by Horace Cleveland and intended to serve as an escape for the workers of the industrial, urban center of Providence, in accordance with the ideas of the
City Beautiful movement The City Beautiful movement was a reform philosophy of North American architecture and urban planning that flourished during the 1890s and 1900s with the intent of introducing beautification and monumental grandeur in cities. It was a part of th ...
. By 1890, Providence's Union Railroad had a network which included more than 300 horsecars and 1,515 horses. Two years later, the first electric streetcars were introduced in Providence, and the city soon had an electric streetcar network extending from
Crescent Park Crescent Park was an amusement park in Riverside, East Providence, Rhode Island which ran from 1886 to 1979. The park was known for its Rhode Island Shore Dinners, the Alhambra Ballroom, and its midway. Declining attendance during the 1970s fo ...
to Pawtuxet in the south and Pawtucket in the north. According to journalist Mike Stanton, "Providence was one of the richest cities in America in the early 1900s." Increased population density caused public health problems; in 1854, an epidemic of
cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...
swept the city. A survey of living conditions conducted by the city discovered unhealthy crowding among immigrants and workers. In one case, 29 people were recorded as living in a single-story house; in another, 47 people shared a two-story home. The survey found 5,780 latrines in the city, of which "fewer than half were emptied annually". 1854 was remembered as "The Year of Cholera" for the next 30 years.


Sole capital

The
Rhode Island General Assembly The State of Rhode Island General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. A bicameral body, it is composed of the lower Rhode Island House of Representatives with 75 representatives, and the upper Rhode Island Se ...
rotated among a number of legislative buildings throughout the
Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations The Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations was an English colony on the eastern coast of America, founded in 1636 by Puritan minister Roger Williams after his exile from the Massachusetts Bay Colony. It became a haven for religious d ...
. In 1900, the assembly passed the Article of Amendment XI, making Providence the state's sole capital and the legislature's permanent home. This designation was concurrent with the construction of the
Rhode Island State House The Rhode Island State House, the capitol of the state of Rhode Island, is located at 82 Smith Street just below the crest of Smith Hill, Providence, Rhode Island, Smith Hill, on the border of Downtown, Providence, Rhode Island, downtown in Prov ...
, which was completed in 1904.


Early 20th century


An "industrial wonder"

At the start of the 20th century, Providence had grown to become one of the ten largest industrial centers of the United States. Providence ranked first nationally in per capita wealth. Its Board of Trade boasted of what it called the Five Industrial Wonders of the World:
Brown & Sharpe Brown & Sharpe is a division of Hexagon AB, a Sweden, Swedish multinational corporation focused mainly on metrology, metrological tools and technology. During the 19th and 20th centuries, Brown & Sharpe was one of the best-known and most influentia ...
, the world's largest tool factory; Nicholson File, the world's largest file factory; American Screw, the world's largest screw factory; Gorham, the world's largest silverware factory; and Corliss, the world's largest
engine An engine or motor is a machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy. Available energy sources include potential energy (e.g. energy of the Earth's gravitational field as exploited in hydroelectric power ge ...
factory. The city was also first in the nation for production of
jewelry Jewellery (or jewelry in American English) consists of decorative items worn for personal adornment such as brooches, ring (jewellery), rings, necklaces, earrings, pendants, bracelets, and cufflinks. Jewellery may be attached to the body or the ...
and
woolen Woolen (American English) or woollen (Commonwealth English) is a type of yarn made from carded wool. Woolen yarn is soft, light, stretchy, and full of air. It is thus a good insulator, and makes a good knitting yarn. Woolen yarn is in contrast t ...
and
worsted Worsted ( or ) is a high-quality type of wool yarn, the fabric made from this yarn, and a yarn weight category. The name derives from Worstead (from Old English ''Wurðestede'', "enclosure place"), a village in the English county of Norfolk. T ...
textiles, and third in production of base metals. In 1914, a series of civil disturbances known as the Macaroni Riots broke out in the city's Federal Hill neighborhood where several hundred
Italian Americans Italian Americans () are Americans who have full or partial Italians, Italian ancestry. The largest concentrations of Italian Americans are in the urban Northeastern United States, Northeast and industrial Midwestern United States, Midwestern ...
protested against an increase in the price of pasta products in the city.


Influenza outbreak

In early September 1918, the first cases of the
Spanish flu The 1918–1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 subtype of the influenza A virus. The earliest docum ...
started appearing in Providence. By the end of the month, public health superintendent
Charles V. Chapin Charles Value Chapin (January 17, 1856 – January 31, 1941) was an American pioneer in public health research and practice during the Progressive Era. He was superintendent of health for Providence, Rhode Island between 1884 and 1932. He es ...
had identified over 2,500 cases in the city. Chapin and other officials responded by ordering more hospital beds and increased staffing. On October 6, the Providence Board of Health issued a general closure order, affecting all public and private schools, theaters, movie houses, and dance halls. The spread of the influenza reached its highest level during October 3–9, with 6,700 cases reported. The closure order was rescinded on October 25. The flu returned for a smaller second wave in January 1919, which hit schools particularly hard. By February 5, no new cases were being reported and the epidemic was declared over.


Early decline

The city began to see a decline by the mid-1920s as manufacturing industries began to shut down. In 1922, it was affected by the
1922 New England Textile Strike The New England Textile Strike was a strike action, strike led by members of the United Textile Workers of America (UTW) principally in the U.S. states of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. Throughout the duration of the strike, an e ...
, shutting down the mills in the city over an attempted wage cut and hours increase. The city was deeply affected by the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
, which left more than a third of the labor force unemployed. The subsequent
Recession of 1937–1938 The recession of 1937–1938 was an economic downturn that occurred during the Great Depression in the United States. By the spring of 1937, production, profits, and wages had regained their early 1929 levels. Unemployment remained high, but i ...
was immediately followed by the
New England Hurricane of 1938 The 1938 New England Hurricane (also referred to as the Great Long Island - New England Hurricane and the Long Island Express) was one of the deadliest and most destructive tropical cyclones to strike the United States. The storm formed near th ...
, which flooded the city's downtown. The hurricane was particularly destructive to the struggling textile industry, with many mills never reopening following the storm.


Mid-late 20th century


Urban decline

From the 1940s to 1970s, middle class residents vacated Providence faster than any other American city other than
Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
. The remainder of these residents were disproportionately poor and elderly. Starting in 1956, construction began on Interstate 195 and
Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...
, which necessitated the demolition of hundreds of homes and dozens of businesses. These highways ultimately severed Downtown from the South Side, the West End, Federal Hill, and Smith Hill. Over the following years, the Providence Redevelopment Authority further razed a number of blocks west of Downtown in an unsuccessful effort to attract investment.


Decline of downtown

Providence's population decreased from a maximum of 253,504 in 1940 to only 179,213 in 1970, as the middle class fled to the suburbs. Those who stayed behind were disproportionately poor and in need of social services. Retail stores, movie theaters, and businesses likewise fled as Providence's downtown was widely considered polluted, dangerous to visit after dark, and lacking in parking. As hotels and department stores failed, many significant downtown buildings were demolished, boarded up, or abandoned. In 1964, Westminster Street was pedestrianized in a failed attempt to attract shoppers; within a decade, all the street's major stores had closed except Woolworth's. Familiar local names disappeared from the city by the end of the 1970s, such as the Crown Hotel, Kent Hotel, Narragansett Hotel, Dreyfus Hotel, Arcadia Ballroom, Albee Theater, Port Arthur Chinese Restaurant, J.J. Newbury's, Kresge's, Gladdings, and Shepard's Department Store.


Crime

From the 1950s to the 1980s, Providence was a notorious bastion of organized crime. Notorious mafia boss
Raymond L.S. Patriarca Raymond Loreda Salvatore Patriarca (; March 17, 1908 – July 11, 1984) was an American mobster from Providence, Rhode Island, who became the long-time boss of the Patriarca crime family, whose control extended throughout New England for more th ...
ruled a vast criminal enterprise from the city for over three decades, during which murders and kidnappings became commonplace.


"Renaissance City"

During the late 1970s and early 1980s, $606 million of local and national Community Development money was invested throughout the city, and the declining population began to stabilize. In the 1990s, Mayor
Buddy Cianci Vincent Albert "Buddy" Cianci Jr. (, ; ; April 30, 1941 – January 28, 2016) was an American politician, attorney, radio talk show host, and political commentator who served as the mayor of Providence, Rhode Island from 1975 to 1984 and again f ...
advertised the city's arts and promoted further revitalization. Cianci's administration uncovered parts of the city's previously paved rivers, relocated a large section of railroad underground, created
Waterplace Park Waterplace Park is an urban park situated along the Woonasquatucket River in downtown Providence, Rhode Island at the original site of the Great Salt Cove. Finished in 1994, Waterplace Park is connected to 3/4 mile of cobblestone-paved pedestri ...
and river walks, and constructed the 1.4 million square-foot
Providence Place Providence Place is a large enclosed shopping mall located in downtown Providence, adjacent to the Rhode Island State House and Amtrak's Providence Station. Opened in 1999, the mall comprises approximately 1,400,000 square feet (130,000 m²) ...
Mall. In 1980, Providence's decreasing population began to grow once again.


21st century


First decades

From the mid 2000s to early 2010s, the city of Providence worked to relocate portions of
Interstate 95 Interstate 95 (I-95) is the main north–south Interstate Highway on the East Coast of the United States, running from U.S. Route 1 (US 1) in Miami, Florida, north to the Houlton–Woodstock Border Crossing between Maine and the ...
and
195 Year 195 ( CXCV) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Rome as the Year of the Consulship of Scrapula and Clemens (or, less frequently, year 948 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination 195 f ...
, with the intention of reunifying formerly divided neighborhoods on the city's West Side. The project cost more than $620 million but freed 19 acres of land in and adjacent to the city's Jewelry District. The city and state have marketed the new neighborhood as Providence's "Innovation & Design District," with the intention of establishing the area as a science, technology, and education hub and cementing the city's knowledge economy. During the 2000s and early 2010s, new investment was triggered in the city with new construction, including numerous condominium and hotel projects and a new office high rise. The city recruited a number of companies including
Virgin Pulse Virgin Group Ltd is a British multinational venture capital conglomerate founded by Richard Branson and Nik Powell in February 1970. Virgin Group's date of incorporation is listed as 1989 by Companies House, who class it as a holding company ...
and
GE Digital GE Digital is a subsidiary of American energy conglomerate GE Vernova. Headquartered in San Ramon, California, the company provides software and industrial internet of things (IIoT) services to industrial companies. GE Digital's primary focus ...
to establish offices in Providence, offering tax incentives and advertising a lower cost of living than nearby Boston.


Ongoing challenges

Poverty remains a problem in Providence, with 26 percent of the city living below the federal poverty line. A 2020
Brandeis University Brandeis University () is a Private university, private research university in Waltham, Massachusetts, United States. It is located within the Greater Boston area. Founded in 1948 as a nonsectarian, non-sectarian, coeducational university, Bra ...
report claimed that the "opportunity gap" between white and Latino children in Providence was the third-highest of the 100 cities considered in the study. From 2004 to 2005, Providence had the highest rise in median housing price of any city in the United States.


Bicycle and pedestrian initiatives

The late 2010s saw a number of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure improvements. A greenway opened in
Roger Williams Park Roger Williams Park is an elaborately landscaped city park in Providence, Rhode Island and a historic district (United States), historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The park is named after Roger Williams, the ...
in 2017. In August 2019, the Providence River Pedestrian and Bicycle Bridge opened, connecting the east and west sides of downtown. The bridge was built on the granite piers of the old Route 195 bridge. A bicycle sharing program started in September 2018, only to be halted within a year due to vandalism and theft. In January 2020, mayor Jorge Elorza introduced a "Great Streets" initiative to create a framework of public space improvements to encourage walking, riding bicycles, and using public transit. The plan includes establishing an "Urban Trail Network" which includes 60 miles of bicycle paths, bike lanes, and greenways within Providence.


See also

* Timeline of Providence, Rhode Island *
List of newspapers in Rhode Island in the 18th century This is a list of newspapers in Rhode Island. Daily newspapers :''This is a list of all daily newspapers in Rhode Island. For weeklies, please see List of newspapers in Rhode Island''. *''The Boston Globe (Rhode Island)'' of Boston, Massachuse ...
: Providence *
List of mayors of Providence, Rhode Island The following is a list of mayors of Providence, Rhode Island. Originally the term for the mayor was one year, from June to June. In 1873, the term was lengthened to January, and then from January to January. In 1913, the term was lengthened to t ...


Notes


Sources

* {{Cite book, last=Clark-Pujara, first=Christy, url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yK84DwAAQBAJ&q=providence+slave+population+1750&pg=PA24, title=Dark Work: The Business of Slavery in Rhode Island, date=2018, publisher=New York University Press, isbn=978-1-4798-5563-6, language=en, id={{Project MUSE, 49199, type=book


Further reading

* Perlmann, Joel. ''Ethnic Differences: Schooling and Social Structure among the Irish, Italians, Jews, and Blacks in an American City, 1880-1935'' (1988) covers Providence. Providence