PROVIDENCE WALKS Providence Walks: The West Side The West Side Self-Guided HISTORIC WALKING STORIES OF IMMIGRATION AND ACTIVISM IN A GLOBAL IMMIGRATION AND THE POPULATION NEIGHBORHOOD WAVES OF IMMIGRATION Beyond Interstate 95 lies Providence’s West Side. A bridge arching over the interstate takes you into the city EARLY ARRIVALS of immigrants and strivers, of industrialists in Broadway mansions and mill workers in cramped triple-deckers. ENGLISH AFRICAN The Colonial town, built on shipping and the slave trade, huddled along the Providence River. By the early 17 th - 18 th Centuries 17 th - 18 th Centuries 19th century, textile mills had changed the economy, the result of Eli Whitney’s cotton gin and Samuel Slater’s industrial espionage. The new manufacturing city spread across the low-lying fl ats of the Weybosset side and climbed the hills south of the Woonasquatucket River. 19 TH & 20TH CENTURY WAVE TURKISH/SYRIAN/ARMENIAN The mills needed labor and recruiters looked abroad. First, the Irish from the mill towns of Ulster fl ooded in RUSSIAN & POLISH TOUR IRISH 1890s -1930s 1890s -1921 after 1845 to escape the famine. By 1865, a third of Providence’s 55,000 residents were Irish born; many 1820s - 1860s settled at the east end of Atwells Avenue and further west around the mills of Olneyville. FRENCH CANADIAN 1890s -1921 After 1880, a sweeping current of immigration from Southern Europe poured into Providence on Fabre Line ships from Naples. The Italian arrivals worked in the mills and jewelry factories of the “Beehive of Industry,” a common nickname for Providence at the time. The turn of the century saw massive global migrations, and many nationalities contributed to the life of the multilingual city: Germans, Swedes, Portuguese, Polish and YEAR 1800 1820 1840 1860 1880 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 French Canadians; Jews escaping riots and attacks in Russia; and Armenians fl eeing massacre. Many found a home on the city’s West Side. GERMAN ITALIAN PORTUGUESE By 1915, two-thirds of Providence’s 250,000 residents were immigrants or the children of immigrants. Income 1860s - 1910s 1880s - 1921 1890s - 1921 inequality was glaring and never more visible than on the West Side where the Broadway mansions of the elite fronted the factories and tenements of the back streets. The West Side’s radicals and reformers spoke their mind and fought for change. Providence Population 2010 Total Population: 178,042

In 1921, the fl ow of immigrants was stanched by restrictive quota laws targeting Southern Europeans. Not until Hispanic/Latino Today’s immigrants arrive under an 1965 did the quota system change, bringing new arrivals to diversify a city struggling with the loss of industry. 38.1% immigration program designed by White/European Congress and enacted in 1965. The Today the West Side is a dynamic community, home to those native-born and immigrant, coming from every 37.6% refugees and asylum seekers living corner of our country and our planet to build a better life in Providence. Mexico, the Dominican Republic, in today’s Providence are fl eeing Peru and Guatemala; the Hmong, Cambodians and Vietnamese; Africans from Ghana, Liberia and Nigeria African political upheaval and violent are all represented. 16% confl icts in their home countries, and include (without being limited Asian to) Vietnamese, ethnic Hmong, Walk the West Side and see the city of the Irish famine and French Canadian mill workers, the Italian diaspora 6.4% Laotian, Cambodian, Guatemalan, and Armenian refuge, and the new city being built in one of the most diverse communities in America. Native American Colombian, Mexican, Dominican, 1.4% Nigerian, Liberian and Ghanaian. Providence Personalities

Maritcha Remond Lyons James Eddy Sarah J. Eddy (1848-1929) (1806-1888) (1851-1945)

Maritcha Remond Lyons testifi ed before James Eddy was a wealthy art Sarah J. Eddy was James Eddy’s daughter and a radical the Rhode Island General Assembly dealer and radical reformer who in her own right, fi ghting for women’s suffrage, social at the age of 16 to end public school built a temple dedicated to his justice, and the humane treatment of animals, as well as segregation in Providence and became independent-minded religion. being an accomplished artist and photographer. the fi rst African-American to graduate from Providence High School. PROVIDENCE WALKS “The true religion is one of faith in an Infi nite Righteousness and Love, and the The West Side working out of those principles of the Divine nature in human life.” Self-Guided HISTORIC WALKING TOUR “The wealthy pamper their passions with Raymond L.S. Patriarca ...” ...” the money earned by the people, while (1908-1984) the producers of wealth starve in their barren homes.” Raymond L.S. Patriarca was the head of one of the most powerful and ruthless Luigi Nimini The Tirocchi Sisters organized crime syndicates in the U.S. (1868-1912) Anna (1884-1947) & Laura (1891-1982) Luigi Nimini was a Verona-born labor organizer, The Tirocchi Sisters immigrated from Italy “Why do a lot of young fellows do a lot newspaper publisher, and activist for the rights of and dressed the elite of Providence in Paris- of things, when they haven’t a father?” the poor and working class. inspired couture for more than 40 years.

Ebenezer Knight Dexter Anna Garlin Spencer (1851-1931) (1773-1824)

Ebenezer Knight Dexter was a role model of civic philanthropy, leaving large Anna Garlin Spencer was the Thomas Wilson Dorr donations of land to the poor and the public good. fi rst female ordained minister in (1805-1854) Rhode Island, a journalist, and The base of his monument on the Dexter Training Ground is inscribed: a leader in social work, social Thomas Wilson Dorr was the scion “Leaving nothing but a headstone to mark our passage through justice and equality. of an old and wealthy family who life does not make the world better. They live best who serve fought to expand voting rights and humanity the most.” led a failed rebellion in 1842. - Anna Garlin Spencer Garlin - Anna “The earth is ready, the time is ripe, for the authoritative for the authoritative the time is ripe, “The earth is ready, as the masculine of the feminine as well expression social consensus of that common interpretation OLNEY ST.

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. P Y T S N D S In the spring of 1975, women with sledgehammers marched on what was S E A M O S A S AM S S S R T E I T B W . T O WILL seats. Elaborate murals by George DeFelice make this a rare and virtually intact T. S Q FEDER A D T O N A R S . AL ST. N A . U T ED N E U R U O TE T R L S R then Franklin Park to attack a dilapidated bathhouse. Built in 1911 to serve S . BR T E D C T E T S B Y showplace. The theater was equipped for movies and vaudeville at its opening, G A O . S E S H L N S S S T M T the crowded Italian immigrant community of Federal Hill, the bathhouse A T . E B L O . T . but struggled with changes in its audience and neighborhood. Reopened in A O N B . A V R . Y . IN had become an eyesore. Providence’s fi rst Italian-American mayor, Vincent E . N T D T E E 2012 as a music cooperative, the Columbus has become one of the hottest . S S S S JOHN ST. O W T V A “Buddy” Cianci, turned the public relations disaster into a coup. Federal Hill ST. . N T G IP . L T O . A . JOHN ST E S live-music venues in town. TEL S Y E . RN H E N M T E D T

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S . ST. ON disenfranchising much of the state. In May 1842, Dorr came to this house a T 10 HTON SHIP RMSTR G T A RI K E 9 B E . pretender-governor. Raided cannons were positioned in the middle of the N ST D IG R IN W D A Y A avenue. Bells across the city tolled the alarm, but Dorr’s cannon fi zzled, and 11 H 19 UNT IN Y L O

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A . . so did his revolution. Dorr was tried for treason and imprisoned, but ultimately BRO Y T W . . W S 299 Broadway S M T ST 21 T CH T H . E pardoned. A new state constitution expanded the franchise but retained A AN . R S . I T T R S C G SPENCER T NU S restrictions, particularly targeting foreign-born citizens. This extravagant mansion was designed in two phases (1875 and 1888) by H O 18 T T A N ST. S H INGTO 12 A U WASH T. K R A R T E renowned Providence architects Stone, Carpenter & Willson, but tradition L C K A T H O IR L R S . N L T B B . T T. S S A 13 E R states that the emphatic personality of its owner determined the eclectic mix A E S E AD . R E T N T S M I T . S N Y IC S D T LM B B of shapes and styles. After retail king Jerothmul B. Barnaby’s death in 1889, S E E H B S R S R S T M A T . T T. S I I ER S . O D . D T T his widow Josephine fell under the spell of her physician Dr. Thomas Thatcher R . MINS A WEST S N G G B H T 20 H P T . IM U D O T E S H Graves. On a visit to Denver in 1891, she received a gift of poisoned whiskey LOCUM O A O S A P R S S N A P F E T V M P S S R R . by mail and quickly died. Graves’ trial was a national sensation. He was E I O S ICK N H T E I N . A A . T S O . S L A convicted of America’s fi rst murder-by-mail and committed suicide in prison in E T T P S G F P R R . L E A A IT . 1893. The house today is undergoing a painstaking renovation to recapture its S N S ST T K C A L E L T NT . . IN . I original splendor. TER ST P S S PO TMINS O T. T WES W . H

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Completed in 1892 to serve the wealthy O IO T . . IS . A P of the most ruthless and powerful criminal organizations in the United States. AK ST ME IV O D . S Episcopalians of Broadway, and home for T T. Raymond L.S. Patriarca ran his cash-only tobacco vending business here as S MainS Visitor Information Center Satellite Visitor Information Center S R 10 years to the African-American Church of E ER T . a money laundering front for more sinister operations, including gambling, RhodeS Island ConventionT Center IGT Center the Savior, this Alpheus C. Morse-designed E S prostitution, theft, extortion and murder. He wielded infl uence as far away as S L E

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M N SON ST. A R their homeland by the Ottoman TurkishHU HUD R I D O SON ST. C D brutal genocide of 1915 and after. The R . G E T G H P i S A A I S L immigrant arrivals called their new home in ER MO M i R T T S . T A ES . Providence the “Citadel” (mitchnapert) for D L R E E WOOD ST. S the community’s strength and activism. This ST 16 T . For an online map, visit: . community continues to aid and support those H ARR GoProvidence.com/WestSideTour in need at home as well as Armenians across ARCH ST.

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X X E E D D N ST. For a free multimedia version, download the Rhode Tour app. The Federal Hill Riots of 1914/Frank P. Ventrone Block HOLLIS ST. 240-244 Atwells Avenue SU PER IOR WESTFIE As World War I was breaking out, food prices spiked. A mob attacked ST. LD ST. wholesale grocer Frank P. Ventrone’s business block here, smashing windows and hurling macaroni into the street. Commonly known as the “Macaroni Riots,” West Broadway 14 SPR fi ve violent clashes over two weeks manifested the desperation of Providence’s Neighborhood Association AGUE ST. immigrant working poor. In the midst of poverty and social unrest, radicals like 11 1560 Westminster Street Luigi Nimini agitated for change. Nimini organized laborers into unions and founded the Karl Marx Club at the corner of Atwells and Dean, the same corner Bell Street Chapel Repurposing older structures is a tenet of historic preservation. where radical speakers riled up the crowd in August 1914. 5 Bell Street Here, the West Broadway Neighborhood Association practices what it preaches. This 1930s Art Moderne Texaco station is a 17 Providence’s exquisite French neo-classical temple, the Bell Street Chapel, was classic Walter Dorwin Teague prefab design, but instead of built in 1875 for art dealer James Eddy after a design by storied Providence pumping gas, this service station has become a fueling place for Providence Hmong Church/ architect William R. Walker. Eddy dedicated his church “to God, to Truth, and the community. Kari Lang has led the WBNA for 20 years and Advent Christian Church to all that ennobles Humanity,” but he could fi nd no one to lead a congregation made the organization a model of engagement and community. 46 Dexter Street according to his religious vision. After Eddy’s death in 1889, reformer and 20 This sweet English Gothic church, designed by German immigrant activist Anna Garlin Spencer organized an intellectual, crusading church Anthony F. Trice was completed in 1910 for the Advent Christian here and was Rhode Island’s fi rst female ordained minister. Today’s Unitarian Canonicus Square Church. The Adventist sect arose from the millenarian preachings 870 Westminster Street Universalist congregation continues the fi ght for social justice with Reverend of William Miller in upstate New York. After Miller’s predicted Margaret Weis at its helm. Second Coming did not occur in 1844, the sect splintered. Today Canonicus was the Narragansett sachem who offered refuge to the Providence Hmong Evangelical Church of the Christian and Roger Williams in 1636, but before this place was named for 5 12 Wedding Cake House/ Missionary Alliance makes its home here, an evangelical church of him in a fi t of Colonial Revival fervor, it was the busy shopping Kendrick-Prentice-Tirocchi the ethnic community from the mountains of northern Laos. During district known as Hoyle Square. Cranston and Westminster were DePasquale Square the confl icts across Southeast Asia in the 1970s and 80s, many already busy highways in the early 18th century. Rochambeau Atwells Avenue and DePasquale Avenue House Hmong sought refuge in the United States — and some of them marched his armies down Cranston Street in June 1781 on his 514 Broadway way to Yorktown. Back then, those soldiers marched past the If Garibaldi Park and the Gateway Arch are the welcoming arms of Federal found a home in Providence. 15 Hoyle Tavern. Built in 1739, Hoyle’s was a popular spot for Hill, DePasquale Square is its beating heart. The quatrefoil fountain and wide The extravagantly embellished “Wedding gatherings and entertainment. A Citizens Bank, constructed in plaza are part of the Federal Hill revitalization effort. Back in the day, however, Cake” house was built for industrial Ebenezer Knight Dexter/ 1921, stands in its place, the focal point of a square drastically tens of thousands of immigrant families packed into these narrow streets and innovator John Kendrick. The 1867 Dexter Training Ground altered by late 20th century redevelopment. triple-deckers. The Cappelli Block was completed in 1909 by Antonio Cappelli, mansion, attributed to Broadway architect 73 Dexter Street one of the earliest Italian arrivals on the Hill, when Irish immigrants dominated Perez Mason, refl ects the euphoric froth of the avenue. Along these streets, too, were the famous pushcarts, selling every new money. In 1915, Anna Tirocchi bought This nine-acre park was a gift from one of the greatest 21 variety of fruit and vegetable. the house and with her sister Laura made philanthropists in Providence’s history. Ebenezer Knight Dexter 18 couture creations here for Providence’s elite (1773-1824) donated this park for military purposes and a 40- until 1947. After Anna’s death, everything acre tract on the East Side for the benefi t of the poor. This public Grant Mill was wrapped in tissue and put away. Some space played an important role in the Dorr Rebellion and was a 299 Carpenter Street OTHER POINTS OF INTEREST 40 years later, RISD Museum curators mustering site during the Civil War and World War I. The 14th Grant Mill began life in the mid-19th century as a textile mill. The were stunned, as if entering a fashion time Rhode Island Heavy Artillery (Colored), the fi rst African-American current complex was built around World War I by textile moguls capsule, when Laura’s son invited them company from Rhode Island to serve in the Civil War, was raised Federal Hill House/Sprague House B.B. & R. Knight, whose fl agship brand was “Fruit of the Loom.” By 6 into the house to catalog and preserve the in Providence and bivouacked here. Today Dexter watches over it 417 Atwells Avenue 1935, jewelry fi rm Blacher Brothers was manufacturing here. The collection. all, cast in bronze by Gorham Manufacturing in 1894. In 1887, Alida Sprague Whitmarsh and Harriet Richards formed the Mt. Blacher brothers were sons of Russian Jewish coppersmith David Pleasant Working Girls Club & Library (later Sprague House) to train and Blacher, who arrived in Providence with his family in 1900. Today support young Irish women working in the mills. In 1910, they occupied Grant Mill has been repurposed into condominiums, a crucial form part of the house to work in this crowded immigrant neighborhood, of adaptive reuse for a city burdened with vacant industrial space. reforming as Federal Hill House in 1914. Settlement houses provided All Saints’ Memorial Church medical and food aid, language classes, and skills training to immigrants 674 Westminster Street trying to navigate a new country. Early emphasis was on assimilation, but All Saints’ Memorial Church is one of the sensitivity to native cultures developed over time. Federal Hill House has few churches that remain of the religious a 130-year tradition of providing community and support to thousands of communities that climbed up “Christian Hill” city residents, both newly arrived and native born. as Providence expanded westward. All Holy Ghost Church 16 19 Saints’ Episcopal congregation was formed 7 as St. Andrew’s in 1846 but relocated here 472 Atwells Avenue 13 Cranston Street Armory Luongo Memorial Square in 1868 with a new name to honor Bishop In 1889, Bishop Giovanni Battista Scalabrini sent missionaries to 310 Cranston Street Convergence of Carpenter & West Fountain streets John P.K. Henshaw, the fi rst independent Providence to form Holy Ghost parish and serve the spiritual and St. Mary’s Catholic Church Bishop of Rhode Island. Edward Tuckerman 538 Broadway The yellow-brick, copper-crenellated Cranston Street Armory, Thomas S. and Vincent Luongo Memorial Square was named in physical needs of the growing Italian community here. By 1909, this one of the most monumental structures in the city, was designed honor of World War I veterans who lived nearby. Before the name Potter’s Gothic Revival design was left Italian Romanesque church was completed. Father Flaminio Parenti, the St. Mary’s is a Gothic Revival monument to the Irish history of Providence. by William R. Walker & Son and completed in 1907. A fortress change in 1938, this was Decatur Square, and today a rare space without a tower due to fi nancial diffi culties, “Shepherd of Federal Hill,” led the fl ock from 1922 to 1964 and continued The stone church, designed by Irish-born architect James Murphy, was begun of social order in a roiling sea of labor unrest in the early 20th evocative of 19th century city life. These smaller squares were but the interior features some of Providence’s the beautifi cation of the church. The work of the Scalabrinian missionaries in 1864. The Irish congregation of mill workers donated much of the labor, century, military fanfare was common. Civilian demand for the home to Providence’s working class. When the industrial bottom most remarkable stained glass. Today’s continues today as a lay organization, the Scalabrini Dukcevich Center, including digging the foundations and cutting stone masonry, in a magnifi cent 40,000-square-foot drill shed, however, was immediate. The fell out, many left these dense neighborhoods for the suburbs, congregation embraces the diversity of which provides support to all those in need. While immigrants from Latin act of faith and community. Today there are Spanish language masses and bastion of military power became host for surprising and delightful leaving derelict properties behind. Organizations like the WBNA the neighborhood, including many from America have joined the congregation and breathed new life into old a chapel is decorated with Peruvian icons brought by the new congregants, aspects of city life for close to 100 years. Only partially occupied and the Providence Revolving Fund served as advocates and Providence’s strong Liberian community. traditions, Holy Ghost remains the “Mother Church” of the Italian diaspora one of many Latin American countries represented in St. Mary’s 21st century now, this remarkable historic building struggles to fi nd its purpose, change-makers to redevelop and reanimate this now dynamic in Rhode Island. congregation. longing to be the “Castle for the People” once again. historic space. This tour was researched and written by Taylor M. Polites.