Showing 1-21 of 21 results
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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.
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Block Island
Enjoy the close proximity of a picturesque town (booze) and a pristine beach (swim) at Block Island.
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Brown University
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.
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City Hall
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 center piece to Kennedy Plaza.
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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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Culinary Archives & Museum
Johnson & Wales' oddity, the Culinary Archives & Museum displays about 300,000 objects connected in some way to the culinary arts. Ogle a cookbook collection dating back to the 15th century, resist fingering presidential cutlery and peruse over 4000 menus from around the world.
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John Brown House
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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Museum of Art
The extraordinary collections at Rhode Island School of Design's Museum of Art include 19th-century French paintings; classical Greek, Roman and Etruscan art; medieval and Renaissance works; and examples of 19th- and 20th-century American painting, furniture and decorative arts. Kids love staring at the mummy, and older-types will be impressed to see the works of Manet, Matisse and Sargent.
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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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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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Providence Athenaeum
William Strickland's 1838 Providence Athenaeum is a library of the old school, with plaster busts and oil paintings filling in spaces not occupied by books. Edgar Allen Poe used to court ladies here.
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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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Providence Children's Museum
If you like to watch younger kids freak out, the well-designed, hands-on Providence Children's 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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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.
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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.
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RISD Fine Art Museum
The state's finest art museum, the Rhode Island School of Design Museum, showcases everything from ancient Greek and Roman art to 19th- and 20th-century American paintings, furniture and decorative arts in a collection of over 80,000 pieces.
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Roger Williams Park & Zoo
In 1871, Betsey Williams, great-great-great-granddaughter of the founder of Providence, donated her farm to the city as a public park. Perhaps the park's most significant attraction is the Roger Williams Park & Zoo. The zoo is home to more than 600 animals (polar bears, giraffes, lemurs) and performs some interesting conservation work, such as a study of the endangered American burying beetle. This little fellow eats dead animals and needs their carcasses to store his brood in.
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Sol Koffler
Rhode Island School of Design (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.
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Stephen Hopkins House
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. One of its treasures is the 1708 Stephen Hopkins House, named for the ten-time governor and Declaration of Independence signer.
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Waterplace Park's
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.
Showing 1-21 of 21 results
