Sights in Providence
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Industrial Trust Building
Come to Providence and you’ll find an urban assemblage of unsurpassable architectural merit – at least in the States. It’s the only American city to have its entire downtown listed on the National Registry of Historic Places. The beaux-arts City Hall makes an imposing centerpiece to Kennedy Plaza, and the stately white dome of the Rhode Island State House remains visible from many corners of the city. The Arcade is modeled after Parisian antecedents. These impressive buildings, along with the art deco Industrial Trust building – note the third story friezes of industrial progress on the Westminster Street facade – are only a few of many showcase buildings. The more…
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City Hall
This elegant, cupola-topped marble hall, located in placid City Hall Park facing the entrance to the Brooklyn Bridge, has been home to New York City’s government since 1812. In keeping with the half-baked civic planning that has often plagued large-scale New York projects, officials neglected to finish the building’s northern side in marble, due to objections about cost. Finishing the northern facade in brownstone and reducing the size of the building overall made a compromise. The domed tower was rebuilt in 1917 after being damaged by two fires, and the original marble (and brownstone) facades were replaced with limestone over a granite base in 1954–56. Its beautiful…
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Stephen Hopkins House
Immediately east of downtown Providence, you’ll find College Hill, where you can see the city’s colonial history reflected in the multihued 18th-century houses that line Benefit Street on the East Side. These are, for the most part, private homes, but many are open for tours one weekend in mid-June during the annual Festival of Historic Homes. Benefit St is a fitting symbol of the Providence renaissance, rescued by local preservationists in the 1960s from misguided urban-renewal efforts that would have destroyed it. Its treasures range from the 1708 Stephen Hopkins House, named for the ten-time governor and Declaration of Independence signer, to the clean Greek…
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Waterplace Park
- Providence, USA
- Sights › Park
The landscaped cobblestone paths of the Riverwalk lead along the Woonasquatucket River to Waterplace Park’s central pool and fountain, overlooked by a stepped amphitheater where outdoor artists perform in warm weather. Take a look at the historical maps and photos mounted on the walls of the walkway beneath Memorial Blvd. Waterplace Park also serves as a nucleus for WaterFire, a summer festival. Another park, a great spot from which to get an overview of the city, is Prospect Terrace Park, a small pocket of green space off Congdon St on the East Side. In warm weather, you’ll find students throwing Frisbees, office workers picnicking and, if you arrive at the…
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The Arcade
Designed in 1828, the Arcade, America’s first enclosed shopping center, uses a form developed in Paris and London. Greek Revival in design, the airy, tile-floored passage, its marble steps worn into bows by the passage of bygone feet, has shops and cafés on three floors. It looks like a temple from the outside, while inside it is much like a street – a straight corridor leads to a second entry on Washington St. Bounding the sides of this corridor are ornamented, parallel facades three stories tall, today containing the inexpensive eateries and clothing boutiques that attract a bustling lunchtime crowd from the surrounding business district. Roofed in glass, the interior…
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Rhode Island State House
Designed by McKim, Mead and White in 1904, the Rhode Island State House rises above the Providence skyline, easily visible from the highways that pass through the city. Modeled in part on St Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, this very white building not only has the world’s fourth-largest self-supporting marble dome, it also houses one of Gilbert Stuart’s portraits of George Washington, which you might want to compare to a dollar bill from your wallet. Inside the public halls are the battle flags of Rhode Island military units and a curious Civil War cannon, which sat here for a century loaded and ready to shoot until someone thought to check whether it was disarmed. The…
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Providence Athenaeum
Immediately east of downtown, you’ll find College Hill, where you can see the city’s colonial history reflected in the multihued 18th-century houses that line Benefit Street on the East Side. Benefit St is a fitting symbol of the Providence renaissance, rescued by local preservationists in the 1960s from misguided urban-renewal efforts that would have destroyed it. Its treasures range from the 1708 Stephen Hopkins House, named for the ten-time governor and Declaration of Independence signer, to the clean Greek Revival lines of William Strickland’s 1838 Providence Athenaeum. This is a library of the old school, with plaster busts and oil paintings filling in spaces…
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Rhode Island School of Design (RISD)
Perhaps the top art school in the United States, Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) leaves an imprint on Providence that is easily felt. From public statuary to film performances to indecipherable screen-printed flyers stapled to College Hill telephone poles, creativity oozes palatably from it across the small cityscape.
Though some experience the pleasure of RISD by putting together portfolios that will eventually be rejected by the admissions committee, others earn style points simply by visiting the school's many galleries.
A few times a year (several weeks in May and shortly before Christmas), RISD hosts massive art shows where you can buy paintings, ceramics,…
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Brown University Admissions Office
Dominating the crest of the College Hill neighborhood on the East Side, the campus of Brown University exudes Ivy League charm. University Hall, a 1770 brick edifice used as a barracks during the Revolutionary War, sits at its center. To explore the campus, start at the wrought-iron gates opening from the top of College St and make your way across the green toward Thayer St. Free tours of the campus leave five times daily on weekdays, and on Saturday morning from mid-September to mid-November, beginning from the Brown University Admissions Office.
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Benefit Street
Immediately east of downtown, you'll find College Hill, where you can see the city's colonial history reflected in the 18th-century houses that line Benefit Street on the East Side. These are, for the most part, private homes, but many are open for tours one weekend in mid-June during the annual Festival of Historic Homes. Benefit St is a fitting symbol of the Providence renaissance, rescued by local preservationists in the 1960s from misguided urban-renewal efforts that would have destroyed it.
reviewed
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Pawtucket Red Sox
This Triple-A (minor league) farm team for the Boston Red Sox plays all spring and summer at McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, just north of Providence. A night here, complete with hot dogs and peanuts, is a favorite way for baseball addicts to get a fix without the hassle and cost of driving to (and parking at) Fenway Park in Boston. You’ll also sit much closer to the field than in a big league park. Take I-95 north to exit 27, 28 or 29 and follow signs to the stadium.
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Prospect Terrace Park
A great spot from which to get an overview of the city, Prospect Terrace Park is a small pocket of green space off Congdon St on the East Side. In warm weather, you'll find students throwing Frisbees, office workers picnicking and, if you arrive at the transitional point between day and the arrival of night, sunsets. The monumental statue facing the city is that of Providence founder Roger Williams, whose remains were moved to this site in 1939.
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Planetarium and Museum of Natural History
In 1871, Betsey Williams, great-great-great-granddaughter of the founder of Providence, donated her farm to the city as a public park. Today this 430-acre expanse of greenery, only a short drive south of Providence, includes lakes and ponds, forest copses and broad lawns, picnic grounds, a Planetarium and Museum of Natural History, an operating Victorian Carousel, greenhouses and Williams’ cottage.
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Sol Koffler
RISD maintains several fine galleries. Sol Koffler serves as the main exhibition space for graduate students, where you can see work in a range of media. Hours vary on the weekend. Another design showcase is risd|works, a shop displaying an assortment of goods (jewelry, photographic prints, flatware, coffee tables, children’s books) made by faculty and alumni.
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College Hill
East of the Providence River, College Hill, headquarters of Brown University and RISD, contains a dense and large population of wood-framed houses, largely from the 18th-century. Among the (relatively) quiet tree-lined streets of this residential neighborhood, you'll find the two campuses and a lot of folks walking around with blue hair, tweed jackets or thick glasses.
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Roger Williams Park
- Providence, USA
- Sights › Park
With so many Victorian-era touches, such as its classic carousel, it's been cited by the National Trust for Historic Preservation as one of America's top urban parks. Among its varied sights are flowery botanical gardens and a zoo with snow leopards and elephants. From downtown, take I-95 south to exit 17.
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Providence Children's Museum
If you like to watch younger kids freak out, this well-designed, hands-on museum genuinely delights most of its guests. Try walking into a giant kaleidoscope, doing experiments with water fountains, pretending to be a veterinarian or playing with marionettes made by some renowned puppeteers. It’s intended for kids aged one to 11.
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Culinary Archives & Museum
This offbeat museum contains half-a-million items devoted to the history of dining – everything from ancient cookbooks to early-20th-century dining cars. It's at Johnson & Wales University; take I-95 exit 18, turn right on Allens Ave and follow the signs.
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Rhode Island School of Design Museum
- Providence, USA
- Sights › Other
The wonderfully eclectic Rhode Island School of Design Museum showcases everything from ancient Greek art to 20th-century American paintings and decorative arts.
Perhaps the top art school in the United States, RISD leaves an imprint on Providence that is easily felt. From public statuary to film performances to indecipherable screen-printed flyers stapled to College Hill telephone poles, creativity oozes palatably from it across the small cityscape. Though some experience the pleasure of RISD by putting together portfolios that will eventually be rejected by the admissions committee, others earn style points simply by visiting the school’s many galleries. The…
reviewed
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John Brown House
Also on College Hill, the brick John Brown House, called the ‘most magnificent and elegant mansion that I have ever seen on this continent’ by John Quincy Adams, was built in 1786.
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State House
Providence's focal point is crowned with one of the world's largest self-supporting marble domes. Check out the Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington, then compare it to the $1 bill in your wallet.
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Brown University
On the hillside above the Rhode Island School of Design lies the eminently strollable Brown University campus awash in Ivy League charm.
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Providence Bruins
Another farm team for Boston, this hockey squad plays a regular schedule at the Dunkin' Donuts Center in the fall and winter.
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Block Island
- Providence, USA
- Sights › Beach
Enjoy the close proximity of a picturesque town (booze) and a pristine beach (swim) at Block Island.
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Roger Williams Park Zoo
- Providence, USA
- Sights › Other
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