Olneyville, Providence, Rhode Island
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Olneyville is a neighborhood in
Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...
bordered by Atwells Avenue to the north, U.S. Route 6 to the south and Rhode Island Route 10 to the east. The
Woonasquatucket River The Woonasquatucket River (pronounced , Algonquian languages, Algonquian for "where the salt water ends"), sometimes called "the Woony", is a river in the United States, U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows approximately U.S. Geological Su ...
runs through the southern portion of the neighborhood. The area is roughly triangular. Olneyville Square is a major traffic intersection in Olneyville, defined by the intersection of Westminster Street, Broadway, Hartford Ave, Plainfield Street, and Manton Avenue.


History

Roger Williams founded Providence Plantations, which became part of the Colony of Rhode Island. Settlement in Olneyville began at Olneyville Square in the early 18th century as a center of trade with a nearby Narragansett village. The settlement grew significantly around 1785, after Christopher Olney founded a grist mill and a paper mill on a wide part of the
Woonasquatucket River The Woonasquatucket River (pronounced , Algonquian languages, Algonquian for "where the salt water ends"), sometimes called "the Woony", is a river in the United States, U.S. state of Rhode Island. It flows approximately U.S. Geological Su ...
. Olney was a captain 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 ...
and owned a 95-acre farm in the area. By the end of the war, a forge and foundry and other small industries operated in Olneyville.Providence Neighborhoods: Olneyville
/ref> Through the mid-19th century, Olneyville developed as a railroad junction and a mill district, with much available employment. This helped attract many immigrants. However, the mill industries declined after
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, causing economic decline. The construction of the Route 6 - Route 10 connector in the 1950s exacerbated these problems by separating Olneyville and other neighborhoods from the rest of the city. In the two decades that followed, Olneyville witnessed a substantial drop in its population.


Redevelopment

Former
warehouse A warehouse is a building for storing goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial parks on the rural–urban fringe, out ...
s and mill buildings in Olneyville were home to a number of artist collectives including Fort Thunder in the 1990s. Since 2000, many vacant lots and abandoned buildings have been purchased by developers who hope to rejuvenate the area. However, proposals to redevelop the Olneyville area have met some local opposition, caused by fears of
gentrification Gentrification is the process whereby the character of a neighborhood changes through the influx of more Wealth, affluent residents (the "gentry") and investment. There is no agreed-upon definition of gentrification. In public discourse, it has ...
. In March 2007, the Olneyville Neighborhood Association (ONA) declared its opposition to plans from the
United Way United Way is an international network of over 1,800 local nonprofit organization, nonprofit fundraising affiliates. Prior to 2015, United Way was the largest nonprofit organization in the United States by donations from the public. Individual Un ...
to move their headquarters from the East Side to 50 Valley Street in Olneyville. In July 2007, during a meeting of the Providence City Council, the ONA declared a "tax strike" to protest a proposed
property tax A property tax (whose rate is expressed as a percentage or per mille, also called ''millage'') is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or Wealth t ...
increase. Residents of Olneyville and Silver Lake expressed concerns that the proposed tax increase would force poorer residents from their homes and declared that they would not pay the amount of any property tax increase.


Demographics

Olneyville's population, 6,495 in the 2000 US Census, is very diverse. As of the 2010 US Census, the racial and ethnic breakdown of Olneyville was 61%
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
; 16%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
; 13% Black or African American; 4% Asian; 6% Other.Healthier Olneyville Assessment Report , ONE Neighborhood Builders , About Olneyville
/ref> 63% of public school children speak a language other than English as their primary
language Language is a structured system of communication that consists of grammar and vocabulary. It is the primary means by which humans convey meaning, both in spoken and signed language, signed forms, and may also be conveyed through writing syste ...
. The housing stock is 18% owner-occupied and 12% single-family housing units, compared with 35% and 26%, respectively, for Providence overall (US Census 2000) The median family income is $19,046, well below the citywide average of $32,058. 41.1% of families live in
poverty Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse Biophysical environmen ...
while nearly one in four families receives some form of public assistance. Rates of
lead poisoning Lead poisoning, also known as plumbism and saturnism, is a type of metal poisoning caused by lead in the body. Symptoms may include abdominal pain, constipation, headaches, irritability, memory problems, infertility, numbness and paresthesia, t ...
14% of children younger than age 6 had elevated blood lead levels, some of the highest in Providence (2004–2008 RI Department of Health, KIDSNET data). Of Olneyville's households, 41% report not owning a car (US Census 2000) Only 3% of total births were less than 2500 g, one of the best rates in Providence (2007 RI Department of Health, KIDSNET data). Of total births, 88% from 2006 to 2008 were to mothers with public insurance, which is one of the highest rates in Providence (1997–2008 RI Department of Health, KIDSNET data).


Government

Olneyville is divided west to east between Ward 6 and Ward 15. They are represented in the Providence City Council by Democrats Sabina Matos and Council President Pro Tempore.


Arts and culture

Olneyville is a number of art galleries and artists' studios, including Yellow Peril and GRIN, both of which are contemporary art galleries at The Plant, 60 Valley Street, as well as performance venues like Fete Music Hall and The Dirt Palace. The Wilbury Theatre Group moved to its new space in Olneyville in the summer of 2017, where they perform a season of new and established plays. The Manton Avenue Project, a play writing program for young people, has been based in Olneyville since 2004.


Parks

Olneyville has three parks, connected by the Woonasquatucket River Greenway and Bike Path. The three parks are: John Donigian Memorial Park on Valley Street, Riverside Park on Aleppo Street, and Joslin Park & Recreational area, on Florence Street.Olneyville Parks & Public Spaces
/ref> Olneyville also has at least three community gardens and one school garden. Locals plan to organize a regular, seasonal farmer's market, as well.


Sports

Messer Street Grounds was home to the
Providence Grays The Providence Grays were a Major League Baseball team based in Providence, Rhode Island who played in the National League from until . The Grays played at the Messer Street Grounds in the Olneyville neighborhood. The team won the National ...
baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...
team of the
National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...
from 1878 to 1885.


See also

*


References

{{Providence neighborhoods Ethnic enclaves in Rhode Island Hispanic and Latino American culture in Providence, Rhode Island Neighborhoods in Providence, Rhode Island