Providence Walks: Downtown
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
PROVIDENCE WALKS PROVIDENCE WALKS: DOWNTOWN Downtown Self-Guided HISTORIC WALKING WALKING HISTORIC THE GEOGRAPHICAL, POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND CULTURAL CORE OF RHODE ISLAND’S CAPITAL, PROVIDENCE’S DOWNTOWN NEIGHBORHOOD IS BORDERED BY THE PROVIDENCE RIVER AND INTERSTATE 95. Colonial Providence was born on the East Side along the Providence River, but with both the success of the mercantile trade and the industrial revolution, the small city expanded west. With the advent of technology, Providence became a bustling manufacturing town. The metal machinery, textiles, silverware and jewelry industries all fl ourished due to the extensive railroad network. By the late 19th century, Providence was the transportation hub of southeastern New England and attracted a variety of industrialists, bankers and businessmen to its downtown. The 20th century was an era that started with optimism, followed by the harsh reality of the depression and, ultimately, a transition for downtown. TOUR Providence was one of the wealthiest cities in the U.S. in the early 1900s. The opening of cultural and social hubs, like the Providence Biltmore Hotel, provided Rhode Islanders a place to gather and celebrate in style. This era also saw the creation of Providence’s modern skyline with new Art Deco structures, now icons of this prosperous time in Providence’s history. The Great Depression, as well as other recessions in the mid-20th century, shuttered those once thriving businesses and halted building activity downtown. As a result of preservation efforts, many architecturally signifi cant buildings from Providence’s past still stand today, refashioned to fi t the needs of 21st-century organizations. Today, downtown Providence is a vibrant mix of nationally recognized arts and cultural institutions, top-ranked restaurants, world-renowned universities, creative industries, fi nancial and legal fi rms, and locally owned businesses earning the city the name, “The Creative Capital.” Preservation and an appreciation for architecture and history are a constant thread in this neighborhood’s story. HISTORIC TIMELINE 179 0 1829 1847 1940 Population is 6,380 Providence Providence and 1868 Peak population is 176 4 Worcester Railroad Journal begins Providence’s Golden 19 00 253,504 1954 1994 Brown University begins operating daily publishing Age begins Population is 175,597 Hurricane Carol, downtown Waterplace Park is founded Providence is fl ooded opens and WaterFire 1636 debuts Providence is founded by Roger Williams 1750 1800 1850 1900 1950 2000 1776 1815 1848 Rhode Island is the Great Gale hits Union Railroad Station opens 1877 1938 fi rst colony to declare Providence, caused Rhode Island School of Design Hurricane of 1938, Providence is 1986 independence from severe damage and (RISD) is founded submerged under nearly 11-foot Providence River Great Britain fl ooding storm tide Relocation Project begins 1835 Providence and Boston 1875 1914 1966 Railroad begins operating Cornerstone of City Hall is Johnson & Wales University Fox Point Hurricane Barrier is laid on June 24 is founded completed, fi rst of its type in the U.S. PROVIDENCE PERSONALITIES “We can only be stronger as a community when we realize we each come with a unique Christiana Carteaux Margaret Fuller William D. “Bill” Warner inquisitiveness …” Bannister (1810-1850) (1929-2012) (1819-1902) Known as “Madame Carteaux,” Noted Transcendentalist writer Margaret Bill Warner is often cited as having the Christiana Carteaux Bannister Fuller taught at the Greene Street School greatest impact on revitalizing downtown was an astute businesswoman, in Providence from 1837-1839, fostering Providence during the 1980s and 90s, hairdresser and abolitionist. She self-refl ection and independence in leading the redevelopment of its historic was married to renowned artist young women. waterfront to create Waterplace Park. PROVIDENCE WALKS Edward Mitchell Bannister. Downtown Self-Guided HISTORIC WALKING TOUR WALKING HISTORIC Barnaby Evans (born 1953) Umberto Crenca The artist behind WaterFire, (born 1950) Barnaby Evans is responsible Founder of AS220, Umberto for creating the “crown jewel” of Crenca was honored by Anne Philomena Haven the city’s modern renaissance. James Bucklin (1842-1912) A graduate of Brown University, (1801-1890) President Obama for “his work on building a collaborative Anne Haven, an immigrant widow, founded Haven Evans is an artist who uses The most notable Providence community committed to Brothers, one of the oldest restaurants on wheels. The public art to rethink urban space. architect in the 19th century, Bucklin’s supporting exchange of lunch cart grew into a legendary Providence food Greek Revival work is still visible knowledge between innovative establishment still in operation today near City Hall. “(WaterFire) is designed so people can interact with each other, with the today. Bucklin designed hundreds of makers and creative thinkers.” artwork and with the urban environment.” structures across the state. Vincent “Buddy” Cianci Gertrude I. Johnson Mary T. Wales (1941-2016) (1876-1961) (1874-1952) A famous fi gure in Providence political history, In 1914, Gertrude Johnson and Mary Wales founded Buddy Cianci served as the city’s mayor from Johnson & Wales University. Beginning with one student 1974 to 1984 and 1991 to 2002. Cianci’s and one typewriter, the women ran the school until their sometimes turbulent time in offi ce is noted for its retirement in 1947. “We should teach a thing not for its own sake, but as sake, a thing not for its own should teach “We lies beyond.” for what preparation - Mary T. Wales - Mary T. substantial redevelopment efforts. OLNEY ST. T ST. TT AVE S N BERNO ST. EVERE NO YDIA E L LA N C E. A S ST. AV ST ST. ORM ALUMNI . D D W AR . N DD E GO E A Y M V C . A O . T N T U S O S B T . N R H T E E O S E S V K W HA G LS A D EY ST. T U N . N E I N D S K T O . T MS ST. G R P O H N I R O L O CRE IGHTON ST. P R S S M E A IT P S H E S T T C ST. S ST. T T E N EWET BARN J S 100 m JENCK T ES ST. B 500 ft A T H T. PARK S S EST T W KEENE ST. SMITH ST. T. E. OKLE S LLOYD AV F . B T R . E AVE S A LOYD N L Y N RHODE ISLAND L . E R C CH ST NATIONAL MEMORIAL UR F T E I STATE HOUSE CH ST. S N I V . WE H L T BO T ROGER WILLIAMS A A S S S C Y N T T . E E . T B R D S L ST. R N S E . N E O D O W T BO T I O W TH H S . D S E N T. E G S . P ST. N . T E T S ADY O AV A C . N S C SO G CUSHING ST. TIM PROMENAD D S E S N T. A L HAYES ST. E T ST. N UR L H CO AMTRAK O OUT C S R MEETING ST. A T STATION H N H P P AVE. O A R R CLID M EU P L ST. O ETING O ME E S A S Custom House G 8 I S C T P N O 24 Weybosset Street . T O E . PROVIDENCE ST . V S E O C LIV T O E . K A historic symbol of industry and . T T N PLACE . S B L E T L R E O the role of the river in shaping S ANG S S T O R the economy, the Custom House . T S O I . S was completed in 1857. It was K C T T I V H N THOMAS ST home to the Federal District Court, . S T. N S E A MA A R T WATE S Y Post Offi ce, IRS, Steamboat . R E F S Inspection and U.S. Customs. The R VE. T A . 1 ARRIS building, occupied by the Federal 20 S H Government through 1989, was . T Take stairs down toward tunnel ST . Trinity Repertory Company B RMAN converted to offi ce space for the E E 201 Washington Street through to Waterplace Park RHODE ISLAND WAT MANNING ST. State Court Systems in 1992 as the SCHOOL OF DESIGNN i . E The Tony Award-winning Trinity Repertory Company is one of the last resident John E. Fogarty Judicial Complex. VD F T L I MAN S This building is the centerpiece of B 11 T IT acting companies in the U.S., performing in one of Providence’s most historic IAL M P venues. The former Emery Majestic Theater was opened by local vaudevillians the Custom House Historic District, R E S MO M T in 1917. When movies became America’s favorite form of entertainment, the listed on the National Register of E O . COLLEGE ST. BROWN UNIVERSITY M R Majestic became the premier theater downtown. However business slowed Historic Places, including eight I CE A and its doors closed in the mid-20th century. The Majestic’s history of live additional buildings associated 19 A L 10 RR B performance meant the building was a natural fi t to house Providence’s newly with the growth of Providence as TE L a business center in the mid-to-late GE V formed Trinity Repertory Company. Trinity Rep was founded in 1963 and is HAN D 9 E ST. considered “one of the most respected regional theatres in the country.” 19thW century.EST EXC 18 . GEORG . EXCHANGE ST ST E .