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Providence is the capital and the most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Located in Providence County, the city is the second-largest city in New England. The population within the city limits is estimated to be 176,862 as of 2005, and is the anchor of the 35th largest metropolitan population in the country, with an estimated MSA population of 1,622,520, exceeding that of Rhode Island by about 60%.[1]
Providence was named by Roger Williams in honor of "God's merciful Providence" in his finding this spot to settle when expelled by the Puritans from Massachusetts. The city was one of the first cities to industrialize in the United States and was noted for its jewelry and silverware industry. Today, Providence city proper alone is home to eight hospitals and seven institutions of higher learning, causing its economy to be heavily dominated by service-oriented industry and, in recent years, retail. The city was once nicknamed the "Beehive of Industry" and, since the 1990s, "The Renaissance City," though as of 2000 census, its poverty rate was still among the ten highest for cities over 100,000.[2]
This area was first settled in 1636 by Roger Williams, and was one of the original Thirteen Colonies of the United States. Williams secured a title from the Narragansett natives around this time and gave the city its present name. Williams also cultivated Providence as a refuge for persecuted religious dissenters, as he himself had been exiled from Massachusetts.[3] However, Providence's growth was slow during the next quarter-century. The Providence territory would become smaller as more and more of the land would become part of different towns. The city's slow growth was also due to the rocky, hilly, and heavily wooded land which made farming difficult, as well as the tradition of dissent and independent-mindedness[3].
In the mid-1770s, the British government levied taxes that impeded Providence's maritime, fishing and agricultural industries, the mainstay of the city's economy. One such law was the Sugar Act, which impacted Providence's distilleries and its trade in rum and slaves. These taxes caused Providence to join the other colonies in renouncing allegiance to the British Crown.[3] In response to enforcement of unpopular trade laws, Providence residents spilled the first blood of the American Revolution in the notorious Gaspee Affair of 1772. During the Revolutionary War, the city suffered major interruptions in education and trade as a result of its location. It served as quarters for many troops fighting in New England.
Following the war, the economy of Providence shifted its focus from maritime endeavors to manufacturing, particularly machinery, tools, silverware, jewelry and textiles.[3] At one time, Providence boasted some of the largest manufacturing plants in the country including Brown & Sharpe, Nicholson File, and Gorham Silverware.[3] The city's industries attracted many immigrants from Ireland, Germany, Sweden, England, Italy, Portugal, Cape Verde, and French Canada. Economic and demographic shifts caused social strife, notably with a series of race riots between whites and blacks during the 1820s. In response to these troubles and the economic growth, Providence residents ratified a city charter in 1831. The city became the sole capital of Rhode Island in 1900.[3]
The city began to see a decline by the mid-1920s as industries, notably textiles, shut down.[3] The Great Depression hit the city hard, and Providence's downtown was flooded by the New England Hurricane of 1938 soon after. The city saw further decline as a result of the nation-wide trends, with the construction of highways and increased suburbanization. From the 1950s to the 1980s, Providence was a notorious bastion of organized crime. The legendary mafia boss Raymond Patriarca ruled a vast criminal enterprise from the city for over three decades, during which murders and kidnapings would become commonplace.[4]
The city began its revival in the 1970s. From 1975 until 1982, $606 million of Community Development funds from local and national sources were invested throughout the city, and the hitherto falling population began to stabilize.[3] In the 1990s, Mayor Vincent Cianci, Jr continued revitalization efforts by showcasing the city as a center for the arts and pushing further efforts. These included opening up the city's natural rivers (which had been paved over), moving a large section of railroad underground, building Waterplace Park and river walks along the river's banks, and constructing the Fleet Skating Rink (now the Bank of America Skating Rink) in downtown and the 1.4 million ft<sup>2</sup> Providence Place Mall.
The recent renaissance has triggered new investment within the city, including many new condo projects, hotels, and a new office highrise, which are quickly filling in more of the land freed up by the railroad relocation (see also Current and Recent Construction Projects in Providence). However, some fear that the new development will ruin the historic look of the city. Additional concerns include an equitable taxation policy for several of the new luxury highrises. Despite new investment, poverty remains an entrenched problem as it does in most post-industrial New England cities. Nearly 30 percent of the city population lives below the poverty line. Recent increases in real estate values further exacerbate problems for those at marginal income levels, as Providence had the highest rise in median housing price of any city in the United States from 2004 to 2005.[5]
Providence is located at 41°49'25" North, 71°25'20" West (41.823550, -71.422132). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 53.2 km² (20.5 mi²). 47.8 km² (18.5 mi²) of it is land and 5.3 km² (2.1 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 10.03% water.
Providence is located at the head of Narragansett Bay, with the Providence River running into the bay through the center of the city. The Waterplace Park amphitheater and riverwalks line the river's banks through downtown. Constitution Hill (near downtown), College (or Prospect) Hill (east of the Providence River), and Federal Hill (west of downtown and is New England's largest Italian district) are the most prominent of the city's seven hills. The remaining hills include Tockwotten Hill at Fox Point, Smith Hill (where the State House is located), Christian Hill at Hoyle Square (junction of Cranston & Westminster Streets), and Weybosset Hill at the lower end of Weybosset Street, which was leveled in the early 1880s.
The city of Providence is geographically very compact, characteristic of eastern seaboard cities which developed prior to use of the automobile. For this reason, Providence has the eighth-highest percentage of pedestrian commuters. Streets had initially been laid out for horse-drawn carriage with no street grid. Parts of downtown and the East Side have streets too narrow to be used for two-way traffic.
Downtown Providence is known locally as "Downcity", and many 19th century mercantile buildings in the Federal and Victorian architectural styles, as well as several post-modern and modernist buildings, are located throughout this area. In particular, a fairly clear spatial separation appears between the areas of pre-1980s development and post-1980s development. Fountain Street and Exchange Terrace serve as rough boundaries between the two.
The newer area includes Providence Place Mall (1999), a Westin hotel (1993), GTECH (2006), new condominium construction, and Waterplace Park (1994); the area tends toward newer development since much of it is land reclaimed in the 1970s from a mass of railroad tracks which was referred to colloquially as the "Chinese Wall".[6] This part of Downcity is characterized by open spaces, wide roads, and intent landscaping.
The historic part of downtown has many streetscapes that look as they did eighty years ago. Most of the state's tallest buildings are found here. The largest structure, to date, is the art-deco-styled former Industrial Trust Tower, currently the Bank of America Building at 426 feet (130 m).[7] By contrast, nearby to it is the second tallest One Financial Center, designed in modern taut-skin cladding, constructed a half century later.[8] In between the two is 50 Kennedy Plaza. The Textron Tower is also a core building to the modest Providence skyline. Downcity is also the home of the Providence Biltmore and Westminster Arcade, the oldest enclosed shopping mall in the U.S., built in 1828.[9]
The city's southern waterfront, away from the downcity core, is the location of many oil tanks, a docking station for a ferry boat, a decommissioned Russian submarine, a non-profit sailing center, bars, strip clubs, and power plants.
The majority of the cityscape comprises abandoned and revitalized industrial mills, double and triple decker housing (though the row houses found in so commonly in other Northeast cities, are notably rare here),[10] a small number of high-rise buildings (predominantly for housing the elderly), and single family homes. I-95 serves as a physical barrier between the city's commercial core and neighborhoods such as Federal Hill and the West End.
Providence's climate is humid continental, with hot summers, cold winters, and high humidity year-round. The USDA rates the city at Zone 6a, which is an "in-between" climate. The influence of the Atlantic Ocean keeps Providence, and the rest of the state of Rhode Island, warmer than many inland locales in New England.[11][12] January is the coldest month with average high temperatures of 37° F (3° C) and average low temperatures of 19° F (-7° C).[13] July is the warmest month with average high temperatures of 82° F (28° C) and average low temperatures of 64° F (18° C).[13] The record high temperature in the city was 104° F (40° C) recorded in 1975. The record low temperature in the city was -13° F (-25° C) recorded in 1976.
As with the rest of the northeastern seaboard, Providence receives ample precipitation year-round. Monthly precipitation ranges from a high of 4.43 inches (112.5 mm) in March to a low of 3.17 inches (80.5 mm) in July.[14] Precipitation levels are generally slightly lesser in the summer months than the winter months when powerful storms known as Nor'easters can cause significant snowfall and blizzard conditions. Though not frequent, Providence's location at the head of Narragansett Bay makes it vulnerable to Atlantic hurricanes.
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As of the census of 2000, there were 173,618 people, 62,389 households, and 35,873 families residing in the city. The population density was 3,629.4/km² (9,401.7/mi²).[15] There were 67,915 housing units at an average density of 1,419.7/km² (3,677.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 54.53% White American, 14.54% African American, 1.14% Native American, 6.01% Asian, 0.16% Pacific Islander, 17.55% from other races, and 6.08% from two or more races. 30.03% of the population were Hispanic or Latino Hispanic from any of the above categories. Providence receives refugees in cooperation with the federal Office of Refugee Resettlement. The 2000 U.S. Census estimate for the metropolitan statistical area (MSA) including Providence, Fall River, Massachusetts, and Warwick was 1,188,613. In 2006, the Providence MSA was officially added to the Boston Combined Statistical Area (CSA).
There were 62,389 households out of which 32.3% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.9% were married couples living together, 20.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.5% were non-families. 32.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.1% had someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.33.
In the city the population was spread out with 26.1% under the age of 18, 18.9% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 15.9% from 45 to 64, and 10.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 91.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $26,867, and the median income for a family was $32,058. Males had a median income of $28,894 versus $23,472 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,525. 29.1% of the population and 23.9% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 40.1% of those under the age of 18 and 19.0% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.
Providence has 25 official neighborhoods.[16] <div style="-moz-column-count:2; column-count:2;">
Providence was one of the first cities to industrialize in the United States. By 1830, the city had manufacturing industries in metals, machinery, textiles, jewelry, and silverware. Though manufacturing has declined, the city is still one of the largest centers for jewelry and silverware design and manufacturing. Services, particularly education, health care, and finance, also make up a large portion of the city's economy. Since it is the capital of Rhode Island, Providence's economy also consists of government services. The three largest employers today are Hasbro Managerial Services, Rhode Island Hospital, and the Providence School Department.[18]
The Fortune 500 conglomerate Textron and Fortune 1000 company Nortek Incorporated are both headquartered in the city, and GTECH's world headquarters has recently been moved to downtown Providence. Citizens Bank is also headquartered in Providence. Another company whose origins were in the city is Fleet Bank. Once Rhode Island's largest bank, it moved its headquarters to Boston, Massachusetts, after acquiring Shawmut Bank in 1995. Before its acquisition by Bank of America, Fleet merged with BankBoston to become New England's largest commercial bank.
The city is home to the Rhode Island Convention Center, which opened in December 1993. Along with a hotel, the convention center is connected to the Providence Place Mall, a major retail center, through a skywalk. Providence also maintains a seaport which handles cargo such as cement, chemicals, heavy machinery, petroleum, and scrap metal.[19]
Providence has a mayor-council form of government. There are fifteen city councilors, one for each of the city's wards. The city council is tasked with enacting ordinances and passing an annual budget. Providence also has probate and superior courts. The U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island is located downtown on the opposite end of Kennedy Plaza from City Hall.
Vincent Cianci, Jr, who was often credited with Providence's 1990s renaissance, was the city's longest serving mayor and a major presence in Providence politics. Nevertheless, during Operation Plunder Dome, Cianci was indicted in April 2001 on various federal criminal charges including racketeering, conspiracy, extortion, witness tampering, and mail fraud. He was ultimately convicted of conspiracy and is currently serving his sentence in federal prison (a book written about his life in crime, The Prince of Providence, is in the process of being adapted to the big screen.[20]) In 2002, David N. Cicilline was elected mayor in a landslide, making him the first openly gay mayor of an American state capital.[21] Providence is the largest American city to have an openly gay mayor.[22]
Providence has several sister cities:[23]
Seven of the twelve institutions of higher learning in Rhode Island have campuses in Providence (city proper):
Several private schools, including Moses Brown, the Lincoln School, and the Wheeler School, are in the city's East Side. La Salle Academy, a Catholic high school, is located in the Elmhurst area of the city near Providence College. There is also the evergrowing public charter school Times Square Academy that is funded by GTECH. In addition, the city's South Side houses Community Preparatory School, a private school serving primarily low-income students in grades 3-8[24].
The Providence Public School District serves about 26,000 students from pre-Kindergarten to grade 12. The district has 25 elementary schools, nine middle schools, and thirteen high schools. The Providence Public School District features magnet schools at the middle and high school level, Nathanael Greene and Classical respectively. There are also two centers for students with special needs.
Much of Providence culture is synonymous with Rhode Island culture. Like the state, the city has a non-rhotic accent which can be heard on local media. Providence also shares Rhode Island's propensity for coffee, as the former has more coffee/doughnut shops per capita than any other city in the country.[25]
Providence has several ethnic neighborhoods, notably Federal Hill and the North End (Italian), Elmwood (Vietnamese), Lower South Providence (Dominican and Liberian), Fox Point (Cape Verdean and Portuguese), The West End (mainly Central American and Asians.) and Smith Hill (mixed -- Irish, Bolivian, Cambodian). There are also many dedicated community organizations and arts associations located in the city.[26]
The city gained the reputation as one of the most active and growing LGBT communities in the Northeast.[27] The current mayor, David Cicilline, won his election running as an openly gay man, making him the first openly gay mayor of a U.S. state capital. Former Mayor Cianci instituted the position of Mayor's Liaison to the Gay and Lesbian community in the 1990s. There are numerous social and community organizations supporting the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community.
During the summer months, the city regularly hosts WaterFire, an environmental art installation that consists of about 100 bonfires that blaze just above the surface of the three rivers that pass through the middle of downtown Providence. There are multiple Waterfire events that are accompanied by various pieces of classical and world music. The public art displays, most notably sculptures, change on a regular basis.
The city is also the home of the Tony Award-winning theater group Trinity Repertory Company and the Rhode Island Philharmonic Orchestra. Providence is also the home of several performing arts centers such as the Veterans Memorial Auditorium and the Providence Performing Arts Center. The city's underground music scene, centered around artist-run spaces such as the now-defunct Fort Thunder, is internationally known.[28]
Providence and the surrounding area have been used as a backdrop for several movies and television series and the city remains invested in bringing filmmakers to its location, as is evidenced by a 25% tax credit on all Rhode Island spending offered to motion picture companies.[29]
The animated television series Family Guy takes place in Quahog, a fictional suburb of Providence and prominently features the most pronounced segment of Providence's skyline several times an episode (the buildings are One Financial Plaza, 50 Kennedy Plaza, and the Bank of America Building respectively). The city and its name were used in the television series Providence, and Showtime's new series, Brotherhood, was also filmed and set in Providence.
The Farrelly brothers used the city as a backdrop for several of their movies, notably Dumb and Dumber and There's Something About Mary. Peter Farrelly places Outside Providence in Pawtucket, adjacent to Providence. The 1991 American/Canadian film Providence is also set in Providence. Although not set in Providence, the movie Amistad used the exterior of the Rhode Island State House as the United States Capitol exterior.[30] Providence is currently the primary filming grounds for the upcoming Underdog movie.
Providence is home to an 1100-acre park system,[31] notably Waterplace Park and Riverwalk, Roger Williams Park, Roger Williams National Memorial, and Prospect Terrace Park, the latter featuring expansive views of the downtown area. The East Side neighborhood of Providence includes the largest contiguous area of buildings listed on the National Register of Historic Places in the U.S. featuring many pre-revolutionary houses. Providence is home to the First Baptist Church in America, the oldest Baptist church in the Americas, founded by Roger Williams in 1638. Nearby is Roger Williams National Memorial. Downcity Providence is home to the fourth largest unsupported dome in the world (the second largest marble dome after St. Peter's Basilica in Rome),[32] as well as the Westminster Arcade, which is the oldest enclosed shopping center in the U.S.[33][34]
The main art museum is the Rhode Island School of Design Museum, which has the twentieth largest collection in the country. In addition to the Providence Public Library and its nine branches, the city is home to the Providence Athenæum, which is one of the oldest lending libraries in the world. Edgar Allan Poe, a longtime Providence resident, was a regular fixture there, as was H. P. Lovecraft; both of them influential writers of gothic literature in their time.
The Bank of America Skating Center, formerly the Fleet Skating Center, is located near Kennedy Plaza in the downtown district, connected by pedestrian tunnel to Waterplace Park, a cobblestone and concrete park below street traffic that abuts Providence's three rivers.
The southern part of the city is home to the famous roadside attraction Nibbles Woodaway (also known as the "Big Blue Bug"), the world's largest termite, as well as the aforementioned Roger Williams Park, which contains a zoo, a botanical center, and the Museum of Natural History and Planetarium.
The city is home to the American Hockey League team Providence Bruins, which plays at the Dunkin' Donuts Center (formerly the Providence Civic Center). From 1926 to 1972, the AHL's Providence Reds (renamed the Rhode Island Reds in their last years)[35] played at the Rhode Island Auditorium. In 1972, the team relocated to the Providence Civic Center, where they played until moving to Binghamton, New York, in 1977.
Providence has its own roller derby league. Formed in 2004, it currently has four teams: the Providence Mob Squad, the Sakonnet River Roller Rats, the Old Money Honeys, and the Rhode Island Riveters. The NFL's New England Patriots and MLS's New England Revolution play in Foxborough, Massachusetts, which is situated halfway between Providence and Boston. Providence was formerly home to two major league franchises: the NFL's Providence Steam Roller in the 1920s and 1930s, and the NBA's Providence Steamrollers in the 1940s. The city is also where Rocky Marciano won 29 of his 49 fights.[36]
The city's defunct baseball team, the Providence Grays, competed in the National League from 1879 through 1885. The team defeated the New York Metropolitans in baseball's first successful "world championship series" in 1884. In 1914, after the Boston Red Sox purchased Babe Ruth from the then-minor league Baltimore Orioles, the team prepared Ruth for the major leagues by sending him to finish the season playing for a minor league team in Providence that was also known as the Grays. Today, professional baseball is offered by the Pawtucket Red Sox, the AAA affiliate of the Boston Red Sox which plays in nearby Pawtucket. Most baseball fans — along with the local media — tend to follow the Boston Red Sox.
Major colleges and universities fielding NCAA Division I athletic teams are Brown University and Providence College. The latter is a member of the Big East Conference. Much local hype is associated with games between these two schools or the University of Rhode Island. Providence has also hosted the Gravity Games alternative sports tournament during several recent summers, and was also the first host of ESPN's X Games, known in its first edition as the Extreme Games.
The city is also the birthplace of professional wrestler Matt Hyson (Spike Dudley or now, Brother Runt), who currently works for Total Nonstop Action Wrestling.
Providence is home to Rhode Island Hospital, the largest general acute care hospital in the state.[37] The hospital is in a complex along I-95 that includes Hasbro Children's Hospital and Women and Infants Hospital. The city is also home to the Roger Williams Medical Center, St. Joseph Hospital For Specialty Care (a division of St. Joseph Health Services Of Rhode Island), and The Miriam Hospital, a major teaching affiliate associated with Brown University. A VA medical center is located in Providence, as well as nine hospitals.
Providence is also home to the Quality Assurance Review Center (QARC), which performs thousands of radiotherapy reviews per year. QARC is supported by grants from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH). It receives radiotherapy data from around one-thousand hospitals in both the United States and abroad. Over thirty-thousand cases have been reviewed at QARC since its inception in 1977.[38] The center also maintains a strategic affiliation with the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Providence is served by air primarily by the commercial airfield T. F. Green Airport in nearby Warwick. The general aviation fields North Central State Airport, in neighboring Lincoln, Rhode Island and Smithfield, Rhode Island, and Quonset State Airport in North Kingstown, Rhode Island also serve the region. Due to overcrowding and Big Dig complications in Boston, Massport has been promoting T.F. Green as an alternative to Boston's Logan International Airport.
Providence Station, located between the Rhode Island State House and the downtown district, is served by Amtrak and MBTA Commuter Rail services, with a commuter rail running to Boston. Additionally, funds have been allocated to extend the commuter rail from Providence to T. F. Green Airport terminating at a $222.5 million intermodal station to be completed in 2009.
I-95 runs from north to south through Providence while I-195 connects the city to eastern Rhode Island and southeastern Massachusetts, including New Bedford, Massachusetts, and Cape Cod. I-295 encircles Providence while RI 146 provides a direct connection with Worcester, Massachusetts. The city has commissioned and begun a long-term project to move I-195 not only for safety reasons, but also to free up land and to reunify the Jewelry District with Downcity Providence, which had been split from one another by the highway.[39] The project is estimated to cost $446 million and be completed in 2012.[40]
Kennedy Plaza, in downtown Providence, serves as a transportation hub for local public transit as well as a departure point for Peter Pan and Greyhound bus lines. Public transit is managed by Rhode Island Public Transit Authority (RIPTA). The majority of the area covered by RIPTA is served by traditional buses. Of particular note is the East Side Trolley Tunnel running under College Hill, the use of which is reserved for RIPTA buses. RIPTA also operates the Providence LINK, a system of tourist trolleys in downtown Providence, as well as a ferry to Newport between May and October.