I spent a few April days in Providence. Here you go:
Prospect Terrace overlook:
The Providence River and downtown:
College Hill, the student ghetto neighborhood for Brown University:
Brown itself:
Fox Point, a cute walkable neighborhood tucked between Brown and the harbor:
India Point Park, which was the original pre-Revolution port:
Little Italy, along Atwells Avenue in Federal Hill:
DePasquale Square in Little Italy:
The La Pigna Archway:
Roger Williams Park:
Providence has some interesting bus stuff. The most famous is definitely its bus subway. Arguably the first "BRT" in the United States, the bus tunnel connects downtown to Brown University, and was originally built for trolleys in 1914. In 1948 it was converted to bus only, and has been that way now for 72 years. It's a non-stop trip, no cars allowed:
Downtown's main hub is Kennedy Plaza.
The inside of the Kennedy Plaza bus station:
A recently-built BRT extends out south of downtown:
I guess I could look it up, but what's the deal with La Pigna Archway? Does it symbolize something, or does it commemorate anything?
lol IDK. If you look it up, let me know!
I assume it's mainly decorative, with some nominal commemorative function. Like the "urban chandelier" in Cleveland. But I really have no idea. Not a local, ha.
I know this one! It's Italian and symbolizes welcome and abundance. For a long time people thought that it was a pineapple vs a pine cone.
Ah, interesting! And I had assumed it was a pineapple too!
You know, I never thought that a pine cone kind of resembles a pineapple, and it makes me wonder about the etymology of the word, because apparently in Italian, a "pigna" means "pine cone"; the Spanish word "piña," pronunced exactly the same way, means "pineapple," so I would have thought they meant the same thing. And then of course Spanish also has the word "anana" for pineapple as well.
I Love me some Providence. Looks like you got around; Downcity, Federal Hill, College Hill, etc. PVD definitely punches well above its weight as far as urban street cred goes.
Thanks for the pics! I fell in love with Providence decades ago, when it was a much dirtier and more run-down place. It has subsequently transformed into a very attractive and livable small city that punches well above its weight in many ways. And it's really not far from Boston by car or train.
Great tour! I definitely need to get back to New England. I recently read Chris Frantz' (Talking Heads & Tom Tom Club) autobiography and much of it takes place at RISD. Providence looks like a very compact, walkable, historic place!
College Hill is actually much more than the student neighborhood. The hillside overlooking Downcity is pretty nice, particularly Benefit Street. It looks like you were in the area, based on the first picture.
That bus tunnel is interesting! I first saw it from the other end first, and wondered how far it went. It took another trip to see the other end. I'm sure it's expensive, but it would be cool if more cities had tunnels as shortcuts around town.
I like India Point for its view of the skyline and the bay. The added benefit is it's right off of I-195, which I use to get to Cape Cod.
I Love me some Providence. Looks like you got around; Downcity, Federal Hill, College Hill, etc. PVD definitely punches well above its weight as far as urban street cred goes.
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